UK LEGAL COMMENT
Of course, there are limits to the effectiveness of such
measures to block illegal operators from accessing the market. As soon as a court order is obtained the website operator can simply move its operations to a new IP address or domain name. In a debate on the Bill on 16 January, Alex Norris MP (the Shadow Minister for Policing) referred to this as “today’s version of the 1975 classic Whac-A-Mole”. The draft legislation seeks to address this issue in two
ways. Firstly, it includes a non-disclosure power, which according to Chris Philip (Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire) is intended to “prevent the criminal behind the IP address or domain from being tipped off…that a law enforcement agency is looking to them”. The legislation also provides for the ability to obtain a court order in relation to a domain that will be used for illegal purposes, as well as for those already being so used. It may therefore be possible for the Gambling Commission to identify additional domain names that are likely to be generated by the operator using a domain generation algorithm and proactively block those from being used. The threat of the black market was emphasised in the
recent report from the DCMS Committee, which has been examining the Government’s approach to gambling regulation.
Melanie is a gambling regulatory lawyer with 13 years’ experience in the sector. Melanie advises on all aspects of gambling law including licence applications, compliance, advertising, licence reviews and changes of control. She has acted for a wide range of gambling operators including major online and land-based bookmakers and casinos, B2B game and software suppliers and start-ups. She also frequently advises operators of raffles, prize competitions, free draws and social gaming products. Melanie has a particular interest in the use of new technology for gambling products and novel product ideas.
In particular, it cited witness evidence from the Gambling
Commission which attributed the recent growth in the black market to unlicensed sites targeting those who had self-excluded from gambling, in particularly by using search terms such as “not on GAMSTOP”. The Commission had recommended in its advice to the Government ahead of the White Paper’s publication that it be given the power to act directly against such sites without the need for a court order. However, the White Paper preferred the court order approach due to its procedural safeguards and ability to ensure that ISP and domain providers have certainty as to the approach they must take, knowing that if they fail to comply with a court order they may be subject to proceedings for contempt of court. It is vital that these measures are brought in to coincide
with other reforms set out in the White Paper, particularly those such as financial risk checks and stake limits for online slots which risk driving some customers to unlicensed operators. The Criminal Justice Bill must go through a report stage and third ready in the House of Commons, before it passes to the House of Lords for further consideration. Although there are some controversial parts of this legislation, the Government will be motivated to have it become law before the general election in the second half of 2024. Labour has also indicated support for the Bill, subject to some amendments. Although these new powers promise to be useful tool in
the fight against unlawful online operators, they rely on the ability of the Gambling Commission to identify sites being used for illegal gambling and act quickly, to identify alternative domains that may be generated by illegal operators, and also on the courts’ ability to deal with applications in a timely fashion. It remains to be seen how levels of channelisation in the British market will be affected both by these court orders and by the reforms proposed in the White Paper, but it is encouraging that the Commission has committed to making the impact of the black market a research priority.
32 FEBRUARY 2024
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