The Football Pools ltd
Request
Copies of all the documentation that exists since inception of The Pools Panel from/to The Football Pools Ltd and their predecessors and the Gambling Commission/Regulatory authorities.
Copies of any specific guidelines, agreements, licences, regulations and/or policies that have been issued by yourselves to The Football Pools Ltd or their predecessors relating to the legal operation of football gambling within the United Kingdom with particular reference to The Pools Panel composition and operation and the various football coupons/games that they provide for financial reward.
Response
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your letter you have requested:
Copies of all the documentation that exists since inception of The Pools Panel from/to The Football Pools Ltd and their predecessors and the Gambling Commission/Regulatory authorities.
Copies of any specific guidelines, agreements, licences, regulations and/or policies that have been issued by yourselves to The Football Pools Ltd or their predecessors relating to the legal operation of football gambling within the United Kingdom with particular reference to The Pools Panel composition and operation and the various football coupons/games that they provide for financial reward.
Firstly, it should be noted the Gambling Commission took over the Gaming Board for Great Britain in 2007. When the Commission took over from the Gaming Board in 2007 there were no electronic files transferred from the Gaming Board to the Commission, therefore, we do not hold any electronic information that predates this period of time.
We did hold some paper records relating to the Gaming Board, however, these were destroyed in 2020 as part of our records management deletion process.
Gambling operators are required to hold a licence from the Commission in order to offer facilities for gambling to customers located in Great Britain. The Commission goes through a licence application process as part of this and makes an assessment of suitability against criteria set out in the Act. Part 5 of the Gambling Act 2005 details the Commission’s statutory functions in relation to the licensing requirements. The Licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) set out the requirements all licensees must meet in order to hold a Gambling Commission licence.
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/lccp
Section 21 of the FOIA provides that information is exempt where it is reasonably accessible elsewhere.
We publish registers of licensed businesses and individuals here:
Register of gambling businesses - Gambling Commission
The publicly available licence details for The Football Pools Ltd can be viewed here: Football Pools Limited - Licence summary (gamblingcommission.gov.uk)
When we receive licence applications an assessment is made on whether a business will uphold the licensing objectives and also the suitability of the applicant to carry out the activities that the licence allows. As part of this assessment the Commission will request the following evidence to support the application and the individuals who are relevant to the application, such as:
- the identity of the individuals,
- financial and other circumstances including resources available to carry out licensed activities
- integrity – honesty and trustworthiness
- competence – experience, expertise, qualifications and history
- criminality – criminal record
Details with regards to how we process a licence application can be found on our website:
These checks are carried out to ensure that we meet our obligations under the Act and our Statement of Principles.
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/policy/statement-of-principles-for-licensing-and-regulation
Once licensed, gambling operators are subject to ongoing compliance requirements and are subject to regulatory action should they fail to meet their licence requirements.
Information collated as part of this process is used to assess whether a person or entity is fit to hold a licence
I can confirm that information falling within the scope of your request is held. However, the Commission is of the view that any information in relation to specific operators, other than what is made publicly available, is exempt from disclosure under section 31(1)g of the FOIA (‘law enforcement’) and therefore will not be released.
Section 31
Section 31(1)(g) exempts information whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the exercise by any public authority of its functions for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2).
The Commission considers the subsections below apply and therefore the information is exempt from disclosure:
i. Subsection 31(2)(a) refers to the purpose of ascertaining whether any person has failed to comply with the law, ii. Subsection 31(2)(b) refers to the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is responsible for any conduct which is improper, iii. Subsection 31(2)(c) refers to the purpose of ascertaining whether circumstances which would justify regulatory action in pursuance of any enactment exist or may arise, iv. Subsection 31(2)(d) refers to the purpose of ascertaining a person’s fitness or competence in relation to the management of bodies corporate or in relation to any profession or other activity which he is, or seeks to become, authorised to carry on
Public interest test
The factors the Commission has considered when applying the public interest test have been detailed below.
Arguments n favour of disclosure:
- The Commission is a public body which is required to regulate the gambling industry in the public interest. There is therefore a public interest in members of the public having confidence the Commission is being open and honest with the information it holds so that it can be held to account.
- It is important that the public are assured that the Commission is carrying out its functions in ensuring that any individuals or organisations who are involved in providing gambling facilities to the public have undergone the necessary assessments and will uphold the licencing objectives ensuring that consumers are protected.
- Disclosure of the requested information could demonstrate to stakeholders and relevant parties how the Commission is assessing licensees and, furthermore, this disclosure may encourage stakeholders to work with us and contribute to our programme of work, increasing confidence in the Commission as a regulator and its ability to uphold the law.
Arguments in favour of maintaining the exemption:
- The Commission has robust and effective processes and procedures in place which are utilised when assessing existing licensees. These procedures and processes have been put in place to minimise the risk of an operator continuing to provide gambling services where they do not meet the required standards. This demonstrates to the public at large that they can have confidence in the Commission’s compliance assessment processes.
- There is an expectation of confidence in much of the Commission’s work, particularly when discussing areas of a licensee’s compliance with the LCCP. It is the impact on this work of the Commission which is more likely to be affected by disclosure.
- The amount of specific information the Commission can release relating to our specific discussions about a licensee could lead to potentially non-compliant licenses altering their behaviour specifically to meet the Commission’s standards purely for assessment purposes. This in turn may impact on the Commission’s function of ascertaining a gambling operator’s fitness to carry out gambling activities.
- Disclosure of this information would also undermine the Commission's ability to uphold the licensing objectives which would impact on the trust and confidence of the public in it as a regulator.
- Further, disclosure of the requested information would prejudice the outcome of future assessments by the Commission by exposing assessment techniques and practices to the detriment of the public interest.
Weighing the balance
The Commission acknowledges that there is a public interest in promoting the accountability and transparency of public authorities and the importance of having sufficient information in the public domain to support consumers with their choice of operator, however, disclosure of the information would be damaging to the Commission as a regulatory body which ultimately serves to protect the wider public interest.
It is important that the public are assured that the Commission is carrying out its functions in ensuring that any individuals/organisations who are involved in providing gambling facilities to the public have undergone the necessary assessments and will uphold the licencing objectives ensuring that consumers are protected.
However, there is a strong public interest in preserving the processes that the Commission has in place to assess operators’ compliance with the LCCP and identify any operators who will be unable to comply with the licensing requirements. The public trust that the Commission has robust processes in place to assess operators so that when they use the services provided by an operator, they are confident that there has been sufficient scrutiny of that operator to ensure that they are protected. If this information were released it would undermine that confidence.
We consider that the public interest is better served by withholding this information, ensuring that consumers are protected through our processes rather than releasing information about our processes which in our view will not benefit the public as a whole.
Review of the decision
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in a new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission
Victoria Square House
Victoria Square
Birmingham B2 4BP