Consultation response
Autumn 2023 consultation – Proposed changes to LCCP and RTS: Consultation Response
This response sets out our position in relation to the consultation on the proposed changes to LCCP and Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards.
Executive summary
This response sets out our position in relation to the consultation on 3 topics – empowering customers to set financial limits on their gambling, improved transparency on how customer funds would be treated in the event of insolvency and removing the requirement to make annual financial contributions to Research, Prevention and Treatment which will become obsolete once a statutory levy is introduced. Following the consultation, changes are being made to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) and Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards (RTS).
We asked
In November 2023, we consulted on a number of changes to the LCCP and RTS requirements (opens in new tab) placed on gambling businesses.
The consultation covered 5 topics:
- Socially responsible incentives
- Customer-led tools
- Improved transparency on customer funds in the event of insolvency
- Changes to the frequency of regulatory return submissions
- Removing obsolete Gambling Commission (the Commission) requirements due to the government’s upcoming statutory levy (LCCP RET list).
We published our response on Changes to the frequency of regulatory return submissions in March 2024. We aim to publish our response on Socially responsible incentives by the end of March. This response covers the remaining 3 topics listed. These topics are connected to the 2023 white paper High Stakes: gambling reform for a digital age (opens in new tab) following a review of the Gambling Act 2005. The detailed proposals were:
1. Customer-led tools
This consultation covered 3 issues. Issue 1 was account-level customer-led financial limits. We wanted to make sure that customers who wanted to actively make use of customer-led pre-commitment tools, such as financial limits, could do so easily, in ways that worked for them and with the minimum of friction. We set out a series of proposed changes to the RTS and consulted on 2 options for implementation - for tools to be presented as the default option for new customers with the ability to opt out, or for all new customers to set a limit on their account.
The proposed changes would be delivered through revisions to RTS 12 – Financial limits.
Issue 2 was cross-operator deposit limits. A number of other jurisdictions have announced, trialled or implemented customer-set financial limits (in the form of deposit limits) that apply across all accounts held by an individual customer. We sought stakeholders’ views on the issue, but did not consult on specific proposals for change.
Issue 3 was artificial barriers to consumer choice. In response to the call for evidence for the white paper (opens in new tab) some stakeholders submitted evidence of friction being applied at various points in the customer journey, which may dissuade customers from acting in their own interest. We sought views on stakeholders’ concerns and specific examples where consumer decision-making has been influenced or encouraged through the use of friction or barriers in this way. We did not consult on specific proposals for change.
2. Improved transparency on customer funds in the event of insolvency
To ensure it is clear to consumers throughout their relationship with a gambling licensee with a ‘not protected’ rating that their funds are not protected in the event of insolvency, we proposed that such gambling businesses should actively remind customers that their funds are not protected.
We proposed 2 options – option A made the requirement subject to the value of funds reaching a threshold amount, option B did not include a threshold. Both options required a reminder to be sent to the customer no more than once every 6 months.
Option A sought evidence on what a suitable threshold might be, providing a number of options for comment.
3. Removing obsolete Commission requirements due to the government’s upcoming statutory levy (LCCP RET list)
The government has now confirmed in its consultation response that it intends to move ahead with the introduction of the statutory levy. The government has brought forward the necessary legislation and expects the levy to come into force in April 2025. Once this is brought into force it will replace the current system for funding research into the prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms, harm prevention approaches and treatment for those harmed by gambling (RET). We consulted on removing paragraph 2 of SR Code Provision 3.1.1 – Combating problem gambling which currently requires gambling licensees to make an annual financial contribution to one or more organisations providing RET on a list that we maintain (sometimes referred to as the LCCP RET list).
You said
The consultation closed on 21 February 2024.
There were 116 respondents who provided 289 responses across the 5 topics in this consultation, from a range of stakeholders, including:
- 13 members of the public
- 16 individuals responding in a personal capacity who are or have worked in a gambling business
- 23 representing a gambling business
- 41 representing a charity and/or non-profit organisation
- 2 academics, responding as individuals
- 5 representing a licensing authority or other regulator
- 6 representing a professional body, including academic organisations
- 7 representing a trade association
- 3 other (not specified).
Annex 1 lists organisations that consented to the publication of their name when responding to the consultation.
We did
We have reviewed the responses to each of the proposals to inform our final position. We have decided to further empower consumers with improvements to the way they can set financial limits on their gambling, and improved transparency on how their funds are treated in the event of insolvency. We have also removed requirements that will become obsolete with the introduction of the government’s statutory levy.
Following consultation, we have made the following decisions.
1. Customer-led tools
We have decided to make changes that affect both requirements and implementation guidance across various sections of RTS 12 – Financial limits, which strengthen our requirements and further empower consumers by making limit-setting more effective.
We have decided to implement the requirement that all customers must be prompted to set a financial limit as early as possible and be able to set limits at any point thereafter. Those financial limits must only be offered using free text.
We have decided to implement the requirement that financial limits must be applied at the account level.
Financial limit setting facilities must be provided via a link on the homepage and clearly visible and accessible. These facilities must also be provided on or via a link on deposit pages and/or screen and be clearly visible and accessible.
We have included additional new wording to support ‘clearly visible and accessible’ elements of the RTS requirement, regarding minimising the number of clicks and/or pages that must be navigated to reach these facilities.
We have decided to make it a requirement, rather than guidance, that all customer requests to decrease a financial limit must be actioned immediately.
We are introducing implementation guidance to confirm that licensees can also offer links to tools or resources to support limit-setting.
We have also decided to change the implementation guidance that licensees can also continue to offer financial limits at the product or channel level (this is a minor amendment to the current guidance as a result of limits at the account level becoming a requirement). Licensees should also clearly communicate to customers how product and channel limits work.
We have decided to introduce new implementation guidance that licensees should inform customers about how limits set across multiple timeframes work, if chosen by the customer.
There is new implementation guidance that communications to consumers that include links to limit-setting facilities should link directly to those facilities (other than where a security log-in is needed). Licensees should also inform consumers when limits will take effect, if not automated or if delayed due to technical issues.
We have decided to require an alert to customers to review their account activity – customers must receive a prompt to review their account and transaction information; this prompt must be provided at a minimum of 6-monthly intervals; and customers must be able to set more frequent reminders to review their account information. Licensees should also monitor engagement with these prompts to inform best practice. Following consultation, this was considered more secure than the originally proposed activity statements.
There will be new implementation guidance that licensees can mitigate against user error by specifying monetary increments for free text limits.
We have decided that customers should retain the ability to opt out of setting a limit, but limit-setting must be presented as the default option for customers. We will introduce additional implementation guidance on this aspect in response to feedback.
The changes we have decided to make are intended to improve the uptake and effectiveness of financial limits. As proposed in the consultation, we have decided to update the wording of the aim in this section of the RTS to reflect those changes.
These aspects will come into force on 31 October 2025.
We also proposed a requirement that all customers must be able set deposit limits, and that licensees could also continue to offer other types of financial limits such as spend limits or loss limits.
During the consultation it became clear that deposit limits were being interpreted by licensees in different ways. We will shortly publish a supplementary consultation to clarify the proposed requirement that it is ‘gross deposit limits’ that must be offered by all licensees, while other types of financial limit could also continue to be offered to customers.
2. Improved transparency on customer funds in the event of insolvency
We have decided to proceed with our proposal, and the requirement will follow option B (the no threshold approach). This change to the LCCP will apply to all licensees1 apart from society lotteries and/or External Lottery Managers that do not conduct high-frequency lotteries or offer instant win games.
We have decided that the reminder is to be sent once every 6 months. The new provision will also require licensees to obtain an acknowledgement from the customer before permitting them to gamble.
These requirements will come into force on 31 October 2025.
3. Removing obsolete Commission requirements due to the government’s upcoming statutory levy (LCCP RET list)
We have decided to proceed with our proposal and remove the requirement to make annual financial contributions to research, prevention and treatment as it will be obsolete once a statutory levy is introduced.
The removal of this requirement will be implemented close to the implementation of the statutory levy. That date is dependent on the Parliamentary process, but is scheduled by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to be 6 April 2025. We will notify licensees of the date of implementation once the Parliamentary process is complete.
Implementation timeline
We have developed a phased approach to these changes to the LCCP and RTS. The implementation dates for customer-led tools and improved transparency on customer funds in the event of insolvency allow time for gambling businesses to make the technical and process amendments needed, taking into account other forthcoming changes to legislation and the Commission’s regulatory framework.
References
1 Except for gaming machine technical, gambling software, host, ancillary remote bingo and ancillary remote casino licences.
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Summary of topics - 2024 Proposed changes to LCCP, Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards
Last updated: 4 February 2025
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Formatting corrected.
On 27 August 2024, the implementation date was updated for improving consumer choice on direct marketing, from the 17 January 2025 to the 1 May 2025.