Welcome to the Gambling Commission’s fortnightly newsletter.
Financial risk next steps – February 2024
Our Executive Director of Research and Policy Tim Miller provides an update on next steps for financial risk checks to help tackle gambling harms.
The Commission has been working to deliver our commitments to the Government’s Gambling White Paper which commenced with a set of consultations that launched in Summer 2023. One of these topics was financial risk checks and this blog post provides an update ahead of our responses to these consultation topics next month.
Independent assessment endorses Gambling Survey for Great Britain
The development of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) has been endorsed by Professor Patrick Sturgis, London School of Economics as being ‘exemplary in all respects’.
The independent review published today, has assessed the GSGB’s methodological approach against our objectives which were consulted on in 2020 to 2021.
Consultations on financial penalties and ownership reporting
Operators, consumers and other interested groups are reminded that they have just under three weeks to have their say on consultations as part of the Commission’s ongoing work to ensure effective regulation.
The consultations, which close on 15 March, cover financial penalties and financial key event reporting.
Emerging money laundering and terrorist financing risks reminder
As part of an ongoing commitment to ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing legislation, operators are reminded to keep up to date with any emerging risks that the Commission publishes (as required under Licence Condition 12.1.1(3) of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice LCCP)
Category C and above operators who hold a non-remote licence are reminded that from 1 April details must be submitted for test purchasing results (for the purposes of age verification) for 2023-24. We would remind operators that a separate spreadsheet should be submitted for each licensed activity.
This is a social responsibility code requirement and failure to submit the results in a timely fashion and in compliance with the formatting requirements will lead to the Commission escalating the matter as we deem appropriate. Returns should be submitted within 42 days of the end of the financial year. The email inbox returns should be submitted to is testpurchaseresults@gamblingcommission.gov.uk.
Should Category A and B operators holding a non-remote licence have conducted a test purchase exercise, either via your Trade Association or otherwise, please share the results with the Commission.
