UK LEGAL COMMENT
Northridge Law’s Melanie Ellis puts the GC’s new guidelines under the microscope T 30 JULY 2022
he Gambling Commission has published its new guidance to remote operators on customer interaction, which will come into force on 12 September 2022. The previous version of this guidance was published in 2019,
with the new release including expanded and strengthened requirements.
The guidance is intended to assist operators in implementing
new social responsibility code provision 3.4.3, which comes into effect on the same date. While operators are required by the new provision to take the guidance into account, it is open to them to follow different approaches, if they are able to demonstrate that their alternative solution equally meets the required outcomes. In practice, a licensee would need to have very good evidence that a departure from the guidance achieved compliance with the LCCP and licensing objectives, in order to avoid regulatory action by the Commission. Much of the previous guidance remains in place and it still
requires a three-stage approach to customer interaction, although what was formerly “identify – interact – evaluate” has become “identify – act – evaluate”. What appears to be a minor terminology change in fact reflects a shift in expectations. It is no
New customer interaction guidance from the Gambling Commission
longer sufficient for operators to just send an email or have a conversation with a customer when markers of harm are identified; in some cases they will be expected to take action, such as limiting the customer’s gambling.
Identify
The new guidance expands on the Commission’s expectations for customers who are in a vulnerable situation. As before, it sets out factors which might make a person more vulnerable to gambling harm but now includes additional guidance on what actions an operator should consider in response to different categories of vulnerability. The Commission’s expectations have been strengthened here, as operators will now be required “to take action when they are aware that a customer is in a vulnerable situation”. Although the guidance mentions ways in which an operator might become aware of vulnerability through regular interactions, there is no positive obligation carry out specific assessments of all customers for vulnerability. However, it is clear that if signs of vulnerability are present, operators will be expected to take timely action, such as setting account limits or refusing service if necessary.
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