Package of recommendations for Government and commitments for action by the Gambling Commission
This is a HTML version of the introduction and summary to our advice. You can also view and download our Full advice to Government - Review of the Gambling Act 2005 (PDF), which includes our advice and recommendations for each area.
All links and references to evidence sources correct at time of publication.
These are the actions we will take and the key recommendations that we make on each of the topics of the Review of the Gambling Act 2005.
1. Online protections, players and products
Protections for consumers online should apply at each stage of the customer journey. The appropriate controls and gaps are set out further in the section of the full advice on the customer journey.
There has been a significant programme of work which spans each stage of the customer journey - preventive measures include banning credit cards and risky product design features; and measures which support individuals who show signs of harm. We have also significantly strengthened the requirements on operators to identify customers at risk of harm and take action.
The Gambling Commission commits to extending this work further. For preventative action, we will extend our review of product features (which initially focussed on online slots) to strengthen rules relating to intensity of play on other products.
We intend to consult further on customer interaction and how operators identify customers at risk of financial harm, with a focus on financially vulnerable customers, and tackling binge gambling and significant unaffordable gambling over time, working with Government.
There is a role for stake limits on online slots as part of this wider package of protections to limit the potential for gambling related harm. We recommend that Government should introduce stake limits for online slots and consideration should be given to tailoring stake limits to individual risk.
Alongside stakes, there is a need to extend the role of player-centric controls, in particular the role of deposit limits and the extent to which such gambling management tools should be encouraged or mandated. We will consult further on this issue, working with Government.
The Commission will consolidate good practice information and reinforce our expectations for operators on contracting with third parties, including white label partnerships.
The Commission will review whether recent changes in payment services and verification capabilities could be leveraged to further enhance identity verification and reduce risk for customers in vulnerable situations.
The Commission will conduct a review of the status of customer funds protection in the event of insolvency and of transparency across the remote industry to help inform consideration of whether further strengthening of requirements is necessary.
2. Safer gambling and public health messaging
It is important that independent, clear and meaningful public health messaging about wider safer gambling and the risks of gambling is applied in all forms of messaging to consumers and the public. We recommend that Government take forward work across departments and with public health organisations to develop appropriate public health messaging to be adopted by all bodies with a part to play in reducing gambling harms. Industry should not take the lead in developing such messaging.
As the industry regulator, we will make full use of our regulatory powers to ensure that gambling operators engage with and embed appropriate messaging in their own advertising and communications with consumers, and fully integrate this messaging into the customer journey.
3. Advertising, marketing and sponsorship
Targeted action around advertising and sponsorship is necessary, especially to better ensure that children and people who may be vulnerable have significantly reduced exposure. This will involve the following.
Further reducing the visibility of advertising to those who are too young to be able to use advertised products and services. We fully support the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) introduction of tougher rules regarding the appeal of adverts to under-18 year olds and we are working with them to ensure sector-wide compliance. Government should require social media platforms to do more to prevent under-18 year olds being able to follow, view and interact with gambling content and introduce clear, transparent, ‘one click’ opt-outs from gambling advertising.
Reducing the visibility of advertising to individuals or groups identified as being at risk of harm. We recommend that Government consider a ban on shirt sponsorships in some elite sport competitions where there is a significant following of under-18 year olds, such as the English Premier League. We also recommend that government seeks to limit the amount of gambling adverts and/or sport sponsorships promoted within elite sports stadia.
Ensuring that incentives are only offered responsibly. We will undertake a review of incentives such as free bets and bonuses to ensure that they are constructed in a socially responsible manner and do not encourage excessive or harmful gambling.
The Gambling Commission also commits to exploring the case for further restrictions on cross-selling and to giving greater power to consumers on the types of direct marketing they receive.
4. The Gambling Commission’s powers and resources
The Gambling Commission must have a more flexible and effective funding mechanism that allows us to deliver our statutory functions to meet current and future regulatory challenges.
There is a need for significant investment, particularly in data systems in order to apply big data approaches to understanding consumer behaviour and operator compliance. We support funding for the Commission to make available further regulatory data in an open data approach.
The Commission requires additional powers at the earliest possible opportunity to better tackle illegal gambling through disruption activity and the ability to streamline some regulatory actions. We also recommend changes to legislation at the earliest opportunity making it clearer what constitutes an illegal lottery, free draw, prize competition or betting prize competition and to address other loopholes which currently exist and leave consumers exposed.
In a world of increased business complexity and internationalisation, change is needed to make it simpler to take the appropriate action to safeguard consumer interests quicker, for example where there are changes of corporate control and licence surrender.
5. Funding for wider research
The mechanism for funding research, prevention and treatment should no longer be based upon a system of voluntary contributions. Long-term, sustainable funding mechanisms are needed, though these may differ for each of research, prevention and treatment.
This Review provides government with an opportunity to resolve the longstanding issues that are inherent with a voluntary system and implement a more robust approach that will deliver an effective, sustainable, and appropriately funded system for reducing harms from gambling.
6. Consumer redress
There should be a new single ombudsman scheme for consumer redress. The scheme would replace all current Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers and consider all disputes between gambling operators and consumers, including those relating to gambling harms. The effectiveness of the scheme would depend on the following:
- the new ombudsman scheme should be demonstrably independent from licensees and operationally independent from the Gambling Commission
- legislative change is essential for it to be implemented effectively
- the Commission should have a clear role to establish and oversee the scheme as regulators have done in other sectors
- the outcome of a dispute should be final unless the consumer wishes to pursue it via the courts, with no route of appeal to the Commission or another body. Clearly defined funding arrangements, including the power for the Commission to set the fees payable by licensees.
7. Age limits and verification
The legal age for lotteries, football pools and category D slot machines should be raised to 18 years of age.
The Gambling Commission has strengthened the requirements for online age and identity verification and is taking steps to strengthen age verification testing and assurance in premises.
We would not recommend any increase to the number of gaming machines that alcohol-licensed premises are automatically entitled to site (currently two) until there is robust evidence that the alcohol-licensed sector can demonstrate its ability to manage the risks to children and young people from accessing age-restricted machines.
Government should strengthen the powers in the Act to enable provisions on the prevention of underage gambling to have binding effect on alcohol licences, subject to the Commission consulting on changes to its code of practice.
8. Protections for young adults
Adults may be in a vulnerable situation at any age, and young adults may be additionally vulnerable to gambling harms due to a combination of biological, situational, and environmental factors.
Protections for consumers online should apply at each stage of the customer journey, and these protections should be equally effective for young adults. Gambling operators are already required to consider vulnerability because of age and we will reiterate this in the next stage of our customer interaction work and our forthcoming statement on vulnerability.
We have recommended measures in this advice which would provide additional protections or have particular benefit for young adults.
9. Land based gambling
The Gambling Commission has previously advised that account-based play could have an important role in protecting consumers of land-based products. Government should continue to push operators to make progress to identify customers at risk of harm using such technology, proportionate to the risks.
The Commission are supportive of amending land-based controls to take account of changes in technology and consumer behaviour, ensuring that such amendments include appropriate safeguards for consumers, avoid unintended consequences and have due regard to the original intentions of Parliament. The Commission and local licensing authorities would also need to be resourced to monitor operator compliance with, and the impact of, any such changes.
It would be appropriate for some restrictions currently in the Act or in regulations to be removed, and allow technological changes to be reflected in requirements more easily over time. This may for example apply to areas such as cashless payment technology for gaming machines.
App-based digital payment technology could be one way of delivering cashless payment solutions in the land-based sectors, and may be one of the more effective ways for also delivering improved safer gambling and anti-money laundering controls.
Alternatively, any move towards allowing debit card payments (or payments via interfaces like Apple Pay) directly on gaming machines would need to strike an appropriate balance between regulation applicable to modern payment methods, consumer benefits and protection of the licensing objectives. In this context, the onus should be on the industry to demonstrate how any developments can be offered in a manner which does not increase the risk of gambling harm or gambling-related crime.
Previous pageOur overarching recommendations to Government
Last updated: 27 April 2023
Show updates to this content
No changes to show.