UKGC to continue using “the stick” on non-compliant operators
Penalty packages described as the “most effective tool” in dealing with errant firms
The UK Gambling Commission has said it will continue to “use the stick” in its approach to deal with non-compliant operators.
Speaking last week at EGR’s responsible gambling Breakfast Briefing, the UKGC said it would continue to use fines or financial settlements as a deterrent.
Helen Rhodes, UKGC programme director for safer gambling, said the penalty packages being used “were the most effective tool in dealing with non-compliance” and those operators who had been fined “had learned their lesson.”
Rhodes added: “Once the operators are made aware of the breaches to commission regulations, they are very engaged in addressing their errors and we often reduce the penalty packages as a result.”
Paddy Power Betfair became the latest operator to pay a £2.2m penalty package last month for failing to interact with a problem gambler who had stolen money from a Birmingham dogs charity.
The operator joined Rank Group, 32Red and LeoVegas in paying penalty packages for breaches of UKGC licensing standards.
The Gambling Commission’s comments come during Responsible Gambling Week, a UK-wide initiative by the gambling industry to reinforce responsible gambling messages.
William Hill’s director of sustainability Lyndsay Wright also spoke about the company’s wide-ranging “nobody harmed by gambling commitment”, claiming that there was no “silver bullet” in tackling problem gambling.