Regulation round-up 24 March 2015
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (18 March to 24 March 2015)
Dozens of software suppliers risk missing out on UK licence
Gambling Commission warns applications received after the December deadline may not be processed by March 31 cut-off date
As many as 30 software suppliers face the prospect of temporarily suspending their services to UK-facing egaming operators after a large number of licence applications missed the Gambling Commission deadline.
The regulator set a deadline for software licence applications of 31 December 2014 and instructed applicants that each submission would take at least six weeks to process.
However almost a third of the 148 applications it received came after that date and a large number of those companies now face being unlicensed at the crucial 31 March cut-off point and operators will be forced to cut off unlicensed suppliers or risk losing their own licence.
“We would like to remind operators that it will be a condition of their operating licence that all gambling software used by any Commission licensee from 31 March must have been manufactured and/or supplied and/or installed or adapted by a Commission gambling software licence holder,” a Gambling Commission spokesperson said.
Metro Play and 666BET licences suspended
The operating licences of Metro Play have been suspended by the gambling regulators of the UK and Alderney due to “serious concerns” regarding the company’s current control and management.
On Friday the UK Gambling Commission and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission issued statements that Metro Play, trading as metroplay.com and 666bet.com, was now under review by the regulators and both sites have since been temporarily suspended.
The Gambling Commission has begun a review under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 following suspicions the company is “unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities” and suspended its licence immediately under section 118.
Seven days in regulation:
UK confirms bookies to face racing betting right
UK bookmakers will soon be charged for the right to accept wagers on British racing events rather than a levy based on racing revenues, the country’s Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed last week.
The announcement, made by George Osborne during his budget statement in the House of Commons, follows the recent completion of a consultation into the viability of a betting right by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
“In the week after Cheltenham we will support the British racing industry by introducing a horserace betting right,” the Chancellor said.
Bookies rally against horserace betting right
UK bookmakers have called the move to a horse racing betting right announced last week “unworkable” and damaging for both parties, with one trade association describing the new system as “fundamentally flawed”.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced the move away from the current levy-based model during his budget speech as part of a need to “support” the British racing industry.
And while the British Horseracing Authority claimed the switch is the “best solution” to secure the “long-term prosperity” of the sport, the news was met with dismay among bookies with a Ladbrokes spokesman describing the racing right as “fraught with legal issues” both within and between the racing and bookmaking sectors.
Major operators to assist online problem gambling study
The Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) is teaming up with the Remote Gaming Association (RGA) and its UK-facing members for a new study aimed at helping online operators identify cases of gambling-related harm.
The study, which was announced along with the issue of a public tender for the project, is set to get underway in June with the RGT having pledged a total of £500,000 to fund the ground-breaking research.
With the tender still out, the scope of the research has yet to be finalised but speaking to eGR last week , RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood said the main intention of the study was to identify a consistent method for identifying problem gamblers using data held by operators.
PokerStars and Full Tilt granted full GB licence
Amaya Gaming has announced its PokerStars and Full Tilt brands have been granted licences by Great Britain’s Gambling Commission to operate poker and other online gaming in the recently re-regulated market.
PokerStars and Full Tilt, white-listed under their Isle of Man Gaming permits, had been operating under temporary continuation licenses.
Amaya’s B2B online casino business has also been granted a licence to continue supplying GB-facing egaming operators with content and technology, while the firm mulls plans to spin off its B2B arm.