GB operators given deadline to display funds protection ratings

Great Britain’s Gambling Commission has today published details of the rating system to be used to measure the strength of customer funds protection schemes implemented by licence holders.

The three-tiered system has been designed to help consumers to assess the strength of operators’ respective segregation methods and to inform decisions on depositing money.

Operators have been given until 31 December to publish the rating system, which sets out basic, medium and high levels of funds segregation, in their terms and conditions.

Furthermore, from 2 February operators will be required to notify consumers of their funds protection rating at the time of deposit, which will need to be acknowledged by the customer before proceeding with a transaction.

The levels of customer funds protection are as follows:

Basic – Customer funds are kept in accounts separate from business accounts but they would form part of the assets of the business in the event of insolvency. These accounts may include bank accounts, investment accounts and other accounts.

Medium – Customer funds are kept in accounts separate from business accounts; and arrangements have been made to ensure assets in the customer accounts are distributed to customers in the event of insolvency. The arrangements falling in the medium category include Quistclose accounts and insurance arrangements.

High – Customer funds are held in a trust account which is verified and subject to controls by an independent trustee.

Following an earlier update to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, all operators are required to hold customer balances in accounts separate to everyday business funds to protect customer monies in the event of insolvency.