UK online gambling companies to change T&Cs following investigation

Following a collaborative investigation by the UK Gambling Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) two online gambling companies have amended their policies to ensure they do not contravene consumer protection laws.

Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play made the changes in a cooperative manner after “a number of unfair practices and terms and conditions” were alleged.

One of these was a refusal to permit players to withdraw the full amounts of their deposits in a single tranche, which has since been addressed.

Other changes related to policies whereby a player’s deposit could be confiscated if no log-in took place within a specified timeframe, and instances where deposit confiscations were imposed if players did not comply with ID check T&Cs within a specific time.

Announcing the changes effected by the two online gambling firms, George Lusty, senior director for consumer protection at the CMA, explained: “People choosing to gamble online, should be able to walk away with their own money whenever they want to.

“Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play are the first to commit to scrap their unfair withdrawal rules, but we expect companies across the sector to follow suit, so no-one gets caught out with unfair terms and conditions when gambling online.”

The Gambling Commission has reinforced the CMA position, declaring that it expects all UK licensees to apply similar standards in order to be fair to players and ensure their protection. In this regard the Commission warned again that failure to adhere to regulations and remove unfair T&Cs could lead to further regulatory action taking place.

Paul Hope, executive director at the Gambling Commission, said: “We support the outcome of the CMA’s investigation, and we’re pleased that both of the operators involved have committed to making changes that will make it fairer and simpler for customers to withdraw funds from their online gambling accounts.

“Gambling firms should not be placing unreasonable restrictions on when and how consumers can take money out of their accounts.

“We now expect all online operators to review the findings published by the CMA today and ensure they update their own practices.”