Gamstop appoints head for the national online self-exclusion scheme
News on 18 Sep 2018
News on 18 Sep 2018
Gamstop, the joint Gambling Commission and Remote Gaming Association initiative to introduce a UK-wide self-exclusion scheme for troubled online gamblers took another step forward this week with the appointment of Jenny Watson as head of the National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme.
Watson has an impressive c.v. that includes management experience as head of the UK Electoral Commission.
The full implementation of the Gamstop initiative has been bedevilled by delays since it was unveiled in June last year with a launch date scheduled for end 2017 (see previous reports).Teething problems appeared to hold that development up, with the target date being revised to Spring 2018.
Gamstop operational head Katie Reynolds-Jones says a soft launch actually began in April this year and has achieved a “significant” response, although she was not in a position to release statistical details. She has revealed that the full formal launch is still on for this year, when the focus will be on raising awareness of the scheme amongst consumers.
In the meantime Watson has revealed that her immediate priority is to bring on additional independent board members and commence an initial evaluation of the self-exclusion scheme based on the first six months of operations.
As recently as May this year the Gambling Commission wrote to the RGA expressing concern regarding the effectiveness of the Gamstop scheme, with executive director Tim Miller noting that he had yet to see proper evidence of the system’s full capability.
Miller was also concerned that Gamstop apparently did not synchronise its list of registered users with companies’ promotional mailing lists in order to ensure that self-exclused gamblers did not receive promotional material.
At the time a spokesperson for GamStop, which is funded by online gambling companies, said the system was still being fine-tuned and would be reviewed to see whether user details could be safely linked to marketing lists without compromising personal data.
The basic concept of the scheme remains a system that enables UK consumers to exclude themselves via a single website process from all online gambling operators that are licensed by the Gambling Commission.
