The UKGC pushes forward with Gambling Act reforms, while we also look at research covering early exposure to gambling and social media. (Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)
The UK gambling scene continues its heated regulatory debate. And we get down to the nitty-gritty of its most recent gossip circulating the regulatory grapevine.
First up I will cover UK live and online casino operators’ preparations for UK white paper gambling reforms. Operators that remain in the country have now had time for the new stipulated rules to settle in and prepare for the upcoming implementation.
Now the UKGC has officially announced that it is pushing forward its agenda by organising a series of consultations. You can check out the ‘topics’ and the ‘when’ for these consultations below.
Next, I will cover the interesting topic of gambling harm and responsible gambling. In particular, a study looking into early exposure to gambling. Adding to this, there is also a Guardian newspaper that suggests social media exposure for the younger generation could be more harmful than gambling.
Gambling Responsibly Advice: Play at online casinos that offer responsible gambling tools to help you control your spending and bet sizes. They should also include reality checks to track your sessions and allow you to take a break from real money gaming.
UKGC Confirms Schedule of Consultations to Introduce White Paper Reforms
The UK Gambling Commission is preparing to push forward its new Gambling Act reforms outlined in the UK gambling white paper.
This came via an announcement by the UKGC’s Executive Director on policy development Mr Tim Miller. Step one will begin with a consultation period begging this month and last around 12 weeks.
Scheduled consultations will go over:
- The much-debated subject of financial risk and vulnerability checks
- Remote game design
- Age verification processes
- Direct marketing and cross-selling
- Personal Management Licences
- Regulatory Panels
The UKGC will also schedule the following consultations in Autumn:
- Socially Responsible Inducements
- Gambling Management Tools
In the same blog, Mr Miller confirmed that the White Label business changes have already been put in place. It is essentially a set of rules that hold operators responsible for the misgiving of white-label platforms. In other words, operators using white-label online casinos or sports betting platforms for their brand cannot shift the blame to their B2B service provider.
It is down to the operator to ensure the system it is using meets the UKGC regulatory framework’s rules. Following this, he has said that new guidelines for White Label management are just around the corner.
See the full report: The blog by Mr Tim Miller is available on the UKGC’s website ‘Gambling Act Review implementation’.
The Impact of Early Exposure to Gambling on Adult Life
Research indicates a strong correlation between early exposure to gambling and future harm in adult life. This connection is further strengthened by a YouGov survey conducted for GambleAware, which took into account the responses of 18,000 adults. Concern is also rising over the extensive normalsation of gambling throughout society, especially given that it’s linked to detrimental outcomes in adulthood.
However, there are also debates against this line of thought. Basically my opinion is going to bias of course. Yet, the number of adults that are suffering from problem gambling is polarised by anti-gambling or gambling harm organisations. When you consider more than 20 million people in the UK gamble without forming an addiction, these reports are not what they seem. When you consider alcohol,prescription drug addiction, and smoking cause far more harm. Therefore, take these stats with pinch of salt.
With that being said, early introduction to gambling often proves to be a pivotal turning point in people’s lives. It can lead to harmful gambling habits that are often inherited from family as with smoking and alcohol. As result, it comes down to responsible parenting.
| Statistics | Details |
|---|---|
| Adults harmed by gambling who knew a gambler in childhood | 64% |
| Non-gambling adults who knew a gambler in childhood | 25% |
| People first exposed to gambling before age five | 6% |
| People first exposed to gambling between ages six and 11 | 28% |
| Adults who started gambling before age 18 | 22% |
| Adults who began gambling between ages 12 and 17 | 16% |
Social Media as Harmful as Smoking or Gambling
According to a report in the Guardian newspaper by Devi Sridhar, there is some debate as to whether social media channels like Snapchat are as bad for children’s health as smoking or gambling. She has certainly done her job and created a bit of clickbait here.
However, as with most Guardian writers, they tend to go off on a tangent about something they personally want to avenge, so take this with a pinch of salt. It is an opinion piece, not a factual news report. Yet, she does bring up some valid points. Companies design these apps to become as addictive as possible. For example, Snapchat keeps young people hooked because they don’t want to miss the next disappearing image.
She does back up her theory via a quote from the US surgeon general. Vivek Murthy has also suggested there is growing evidence that social media is affecting young people’s mental health.
Check out the Guardian news report here for more info.
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