Poll: Are gambling T&Cs unfair?

The online gambling industry is back under the regulatory spotlight once after the CMA announced it was investigating claims of operators using “unfair” terms and “misleading” practices.

The UK’s competition watchdog said on Friday it was working in collaboration with the British Gambling Commission to assess whether operators’ handling of customers was in breach of consumer law.

Practices currently under investigation include the cancellation of bets, altering odds after bets have been accepted, and offering misleading sign-up promotions.

Suggestions that firms are using money laundering checks to make it more difficult for winning punters to withdraw cash are also part of the CMA’s examination into the UK online gambling sector.

“Gambling inevitably involves risk, but it shouldn’t be a con,” Nisha Arora, CMA senior director for consumer enforcement, said.

“We’re worried players are losing out because gambling sites are making it too difficult for them to understand the terms on which they’re playing, and may not be giving them a fair deal.

However, Clive Hawkswood, CEO of the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), hit back at claims the practices under investigation were a widespread industry problem.

“There is no reason to believe that there are widespread failings,” Hawkswood told EGR.

“However, it would be wrong to pre-judge the outcome of an inquiry that has only just begun. If there are faults it is right that the CMA shines a light on them and that we collectively learn lessons from that,” he added.

With this in mind, this week’s EGR poll wants to know whether you think the industry has a fairness problem or whether customer complaints are the exception rather than the rule. Have your say on the right-hand side of the page.