BGC Launches a New Voluntary Code on Customer Checks
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has announced a new voluntary industry code on customer checks that can be implemented without the need for intrusive financial checks on gamblers. This new proposal has been designed in collaboration with the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), the UK betting regulator.
BGC introduces code on customer checks.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The BGC states they want to add this new voluntary code to a suite of industry tools used by gambling companies to promote responsible gaming. The UKGC recently laid out a strategy to create a responsible gaming industry.
The BGC and UKGC have expressed they believe this scheme will address the financial checks proposals outlined in the White Paper introduced by the UK government to amend the Gambling Act. The checks have come under the most criticism from nearly all stakeholders in the gambling industry, in particular the racing industry.
Under the terms of the new customer checks initiative players who make net deposits of more than £5,000 in a month or £25,000 in a year will be highlighted as customers who will be flagged up for intervention from gaming operators. Players who reach this limit will then be required to produce statements proving they are not at financial risk or vulnerable to gambling-related harm.
This Code is good progress towards solving an issue that has generated such heated public debate. It will significantly increase the consistency of safer gambling standards while removing intrusive document checks for many who are currently subject to detailed checks. This should be particularly welcomed by British horseracing. It is vital to note that this new Code sits on top of a host of other safer gambling measures our members already conduct, and which only exist in the regulated sector.
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Financial Checks Should Be Part of a Range of Tools
This proposal can be seen as an effective way to monitor the gambling habits of the majority of players gambling habits over a sustained period.
However, the BGC and UKGC are keen to point out that financial checks are just one of a range of responsible gaming tools and support that gaming operators can use to ensure that customers can enjoy betting within a safe environment.
The new code will allow gaming operators to perform unobtrusive and frictionless checks on customers which can then flag customers as potentially vulnerable form gambling-related harm should they reach the limits set out in the guidelines.
We think this code will help address the varying approaches from operators to customer spend triggers today, whilst we conduct a pilot on the use of the frictionless financial risk assessments that the Government proposed in their White Paper. Of course, operators remain under the obligation to meet other requirements to support customers at risk of harm. All the normal monitoring and action by operators where their customers may be showing signs of risk or harm remain the same and this can often be done in ways which do not involve document checks.
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