UK LEGAL COMMENT Mikheil/Adobe Stock
Northridge Law’s Melanie Ellis looks ahead to a big, big year for UK gambling
Change afoot 2
022 looks set to be a seminal year for gambling regulation in Great Britain. The Government intends to publish a White Paper setting out its proposals for changes to gambling legislation “as soon as possible in the coming months”.
The Gambling Commission, meanwhile, is due to appoint a new permanent CEO by the end of the year (which may or may not be interim CEO Andrew Rhodes). It also looks likely to be subject to further criticism by the Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group (APBGG) with the upcoming publication of its report into the regulator’s competence and effectiveness. What changes are these developments likely to bring for GC-licensed gambling operators?
26 JANUARY 2022 Legislative changes
Chris Philip MP, the Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy, stated in a Commons debate on 6 January that he expects the White Paper will include “a strengthening of age-related measures and, indeed, a strengthening of measures more widely”. He also accepted that “there are some extremely troubling practices, particularly among online gambling firms” and said the Government’s “intention is to find ways of introducing reforms to prevent the serious harm caused by gambling addiction while also allowing those who can bet safely to do so”. It is difficult to predict what the “strengthening of
age-related measures” might entail, as online operators are already required to verify a customer’s age before they
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