UK LEGAL COMMENT
The existence of a levy has received broad support and
looks on track to be introduced in 2024, although more controversial is the question of how the funds should be distributed. The DCMS Committee recently recommended that the Government ensure the levy funds be ringfenced for the purposes of understanding, preventing and treating gambling harm, with the new Levy Board putting in place a new national strategy to reduce gambling harm following the levy’s implementation.
Advertising and incentives Whilst criticism of gambling advertising was perhaps one of the key driving forces behind the instigation of the Gambling Act review, in the end the White Paper made relatively few proposals for regulatory reform in this area. Two key reasons for this were the implementation of stricter rules by the Advertising Standards Authority in 2022, which restricted the involvement of individuals with strong appeal to children (such as sports stars) in gambling advertising, and the voluntary agreement by Premier League football clubs to cease front of shirt sponsorship by gambling operators from the 2026/27 season. A gambling sponsorship code of conduct was supported
in the White Paper, which the Government indicated would be developed by sports governing bodies. The current status of this code is unclear and, in its recent report, the DCMS Committee called out the lack of progress in publishing it. Proposed restrictions on direct marketing were set out in
the White Paper and the Gambling Commission consulted on these measures in Autumn 2023. The regulator proposes that customers will need to opt-in to all marketing by gambling operators on a ‘per channel’ and ‘per product’ basis so that, for example, a customer could indicate a preference to be contacted about betting offers but not those for casino games.
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.
The Commission has yet to publish a response to the
direct marketing consultation and has since launched a further consultation (closing on 21 February 2024) on the structure of incentives such as free bets and bonuses. Options being consulted on include banning or limiting wagering requirements applied to bonus funds and preventing operators from mixing products within an incentive, so that promotional offers may relate to one gambling product only. Given the cross-over with the direct marketing consultation, it may be that responses to both will be considered together, with final LCCP changes published in mid to late 2024.
Land-based casinos The proposed reforms relevant to land-based casinos will permit additional gaming machines in qualifying 1968 Act casinos, an increase in machine to table ratios for 2005 Act small casinos, cashless payments and sports betting in all casinos. The Government’s consultation on these reforms closed in October 2023, but secondary legislation must be presented to Parliament to implement these changes. Any delay to the implementation of these changes will no doubt be frustrating to operators who eagerly anticipate the proposed liberalisation.
Gambling Commission fees and powers Two key areas of reform from the regulator’s perspective are giving it the ability to set its own fees and to apply for court orders to force third parties to take measures to disrupt the business of illegal online gambling operators. These measures require primary legislation, so are dependent on Parliamentary time to be progressed. The lack of any mention of gambling reform in the King’s Speech has led to some concern that implementation of these reforms may be delayed, potentially until after the general election which is expected in the second half of 2024.
Timing The White Paper set out an intention that the ‘main measures’ would be in force by summer 2024. Given the history of these gambling reforms, any expectation that this timetable would be adhered to would have been unduly optimistic. At the end of 2023, the DCMS Select Commission made comments in its latest report which cast further doubt over this timeline, particularly those that require legislation to implement. Nevertheless, by the end of 2024 we should expect to see many of the proposed reforms implemented, through changes to the LCCP or legislation and operators must anticipate an expectation by the Gambling Commission of compliance from day one.
36 JANUARY 2024
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