Challenges ahead for the UK gambling industry

The BBC published a comprehensive article on the UK gambling industry over the weekend, flagging contentious areas but revealing nothing especially new.

Highlights include:

* Tougher stance of the UK regulator and government, with the regulator taking an increasingly strong enforcement role against operators and their affiliates who do not comply with licence conditions and regulations. The harder attitude will apply also to advertising, where the Commission will likely soon be able to fine operators on ASA contraventions;

* Gambling industry as a whole contributes GBP 2.8 billion in taxes annually to UK government coffers.

* Concerns about compulsive and problem gambling remain;

* Major gambling firms with retail operations holding their breath awaiting the government’s decisions regarding Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, warning of the consequences for jobs and the fiscus if maximum batting limits are slashed too far down;

* Continued shift to online gambling, with online operations in the UK now delivering GBP4.7 billion out of overall gambling industry revenues of GBP 13.7 billion;

* Remote Gaming Association comments on the imminent introduction of GAMSTOP, the national self-exclusion scheme that will be mandatory for online operators, CEO Clive Hawkswood points to the use of behavioural analytics to identify potentially problem gamblers;

* Gamble Aware would like to tighten restrictions on operators further, saying: “There is no limit to stakes and prizes, which we think is unacceptable. We’ve also called for a ban on the use of credit cards for online gambling”;

* Many online operators now include sponsorship of UK football and other sports teams in their marketing strategies;

* At the start of April, new standards for gambling adverts come into effect. The Committee of Advertising Practice will ban adverts creating a “sense of urgency”, for example saying “Bet Now!”, or those that trivialise gambling – later this year more guidelines will be published focusing on protecting young people;

* Consolidation in the industry likely to continue following the FOBT decision. Interviewees say the industry seeks certainty;

* If the US sports market opens up following a positive decision in the US Supreme Court for New Jersey, the online sector of gambling could become even more international as US casino operators look to experienced UK companies for the latest in sports betting technologies;

* The Remote Gambling Association says the industry’s image problem needs to be addressed.

Read the full article here