GBGA to launch legal challenge against UK gambling law

The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) has filed a legal challenge against a law that has introduced a new gambling licence regime in the UK.

The GBGA said that the new regime, introduced via the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 earlier this year, as well as the UK Gambling Commission’s guidance and policies, are ‘unlawful’.

In a statement, the organisation accused the regime of being unlawful “because it is an illegitimate, disproportionate and discriminatory interference with the right to free movement of services guaranteed by Article 56 TFEU, and is irrational”.

Although UK regulators said that the intent of the new law is to protect consumers, the GBGA fears it could do exactly the opposite and cause harm to people.

“The absence of effective supervision and enforcement, coupled with the burdensome regulatory requirements, will encourage the growth of and migration to unregulated or poorly regulated operators which will present genuine risks to the British consumer”, the GBSA said in its submission to the High Court of England and Wales.

“When introducing the new licensing regime, the defendants rejected the option of a ‘passporting’ regime.

“This would have been both less onerous to legitimate operators and more effective in protecting consumers, since it would have been based on effective supervision and cooperation between the Gambling Commission and overseas regulators.”

 

The GBGA accused regulators of designing the new regime for economic reasons and to grant UK operators a ‘competitive advantage’ over those from overseas.

With the new licensing regulation due to come into force on October 1, the GBGA has requested an expedited hearing for its case.

The move comes after the GBGA earlier this year wrote to the UK government and the Gambling Commission to declare its intention to challenge the new Act.

Peter Howitt, chief executive of the GBGA, said: “It is extremely disappointing that our concerns have not been listened to by the UK Government, and that the Gambling Commission’s plans to expand its remit have been accepted.

“The only beneficiaries of this change are the UK domestic industry and the Gambling Commission itself, which has persuaded the UK Government that it should be the global regulator of this high-tech and complex industry.

“It has neither the resources, the legal powers, nor the skills to operate successfully across the globe.

“This is bad news for consumers, and for international competition. We have an effective and knowledgeable regulator in Gibraltar.

“That the Gambling Commission believes it is better placed to regulate the industry here is laughable. We are determined to fight against measures that actually undermine consumer protection.”

Related article: Gibraltar body to challenge new UK Gambling Act

 

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