The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) national regulatory body has unveiled a new set of social responsibility measures in an effort to protect players, young people and others at risk of gambling-related harm.
The new measures come after the organization last year undertook a major review into social responsibility within the gambling sector.
The updated set of measures will become part of the license conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) that all licensed operators in the UK must abide by.
Under the new measures, an operator’s staff must be able to supervise
customers effectively on gambling premises and have arrangements in place for identifying those who are at risk of gambling-related harm, even if they are not displaying obvious signs.
In addition, larger operators must conduct test purchasing to ensure their system for preventing under-age gambling is working.
By April 2016, land-based operators must have in place schemes that enable customers to make a single request to self-exclude from all operators of a similar type within their area, while the UKGC will work with industry representatives to develop a national online self-exclusion scheme by 2017.
Meanwhile, operators must also develop a range of measures to ensure marketing and advertising is socially responsible.
Finally, online operators must provide ‘time-out’ facilities to allow players to take a break from gambling and offer players the ability to set a timed on-screen check to help them review their spend and possibly stop playing.
Philip Graf, chair of the UKGC, said: “The work we have done through the review represents a significant strengthening of the social responsibility measures in the LCCP.
“But we have reached the point at which it is clear that much more could be achieved if anonymous gambling in cash was not such a prominent feature of land-based gambling.
“Removing anonymity of course raises its own challenges and it is time for a proper public debate on the costs and benefits of doing so.”
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