In a bid to make online gambling in the United Kingdom safer, the UK Gambling Commission on Thursday, February 7announced a new set of rules and regulations most of which are meant to safeguard against underage gambling and significantly reduce the misinterpretation or manipulation of gaming guidelines by both operators and consumers. The new rules which are expected to be implemented as from May 7 were drawn up through open consultation with stakeholders in order to ensure efficient and speedy customer verification.
Protection of Minors
In a recent survey commissioned by the gaming regulator, it was revealed that the number of children who had access to gambling services had gone up by up to four times. This worrying trend was enough to nudge the commission to revise its regulations and rules with regards to how the operators are meant to carry out their activities.
Prior to the proposed changes, gamblers were able to access betting services whilst their details were being checked by the operators, a process that took in excess of 72 hours to complete. As such, it was easy for minors (people under the legal gambling age – 18) to gamble. However, the new changes seek to change this by making it almost impossible for anyone to engage in the gaming activities – the operators will now be required to verify age before any customer can deposit funds into their account or gamble on free bets or bonuses or their own money.
According to Neil McArthur, the Chief Executive of the UK Gambling Commission, the new rules are not only designed to protect children and other vulnerable individuals from gambling-related harm but they will also go a long way in making “gambling fairer by helping consumers collect their winnings without unnecessary delay.”
The Convenience Factor
Aside from the customer protection that the new rules promise, the new rules are also going to implement a change that has long been requested for by many online gamblers. A good number of online gaming customers have often complained to the UK Gambling Commission about the fact that gaming operators requested them for additional identification information and documents whenever they needed to withdraw funds from their online casino accounts.
In March last year, a decree that considered this to be an unfair treatment of customers was passed and the new set of rules have finally addressed the issue. Now, the UK Gambling Commission’s licensees will be required to inform their customers of all the documents required, the instances they will be required and how they can be supplied before the customers make their first deposits. Furthermore, the operators will also be required to ask for any additional information promptly and on time.
