BGC: UK punters fear tough white paper could spike black market activity
New survey finds that regular punters are concerned about potential restrictions in the upcoming white paper on the Gambling Act 2005 review
A new survey by YouGov on behalf, of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), has found that 67% of regular punters feel that compulsory spending limits could lead to a spike in black market gambling.
Alongside this headline figure, the survey also found that 64% of the public felt an increase in the use of illegal sites could trigger an increase in problem gambling rates.
Nearly 70% of respondents who place bets regularly said they would be against compulsory affordability checks from operators, which is something that gambling reformists have suggested to tackle problem gambling.
Gambling on black market sites has more than doubled in recent years from 220,000 to 460,000, and the amount staked is now in the billions of pounds, according to research from the BGC.
The latest figures from the UK Gambling Commission showed that problem gambling rates remain low in comparison to the rest of Europe at 0.3%, but Michael Dugher, CEO of the BGC, has warned that this latest poll should be taken seriously by the ministers in charge of the forthcoming white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review.
Dugher said: “We strongly support the gambling review as a further opportunity to raise standards and promote safer gambling.
“Ministers have rightly always said it will be an evidence-led process; these poll findings are an important reminder of the risks of getting this wrong by introducing arbitrary blanket spending checks on anyone who likes a flutter,” he added.
Dugher suggested affordability measures needed to be targeted to specific customers as to not impact the wider public.
He continued: “Any changes introduced by the government must be carefully targeted so that we protect the vulnerable and intervene on those showing signs of harm, whilst not driving the vast majority of millions of punters who bet safely towards the growing unsafe black market online, where there are none of the safer gambling protections used by BGC members.”