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Guidance

Customer funds: segregation, disclosure to customers and reporting requirements

Customer funds: segregation, disclosure to customers and reporting requirements

  1. Contents
  2. Advice on implementing licence condition 4.2.1 (disclosure to customers)

Advice on implementing licence condition 4.2.1 (disclosure to customers)

Licence condition 4.2.1 applies to both remote and non-remote operators who hold customer funds. It contains at paragraph 1 the requirement that information must be set out in operator terms and conditions about whether customer funds are protected in the event of insolvency, the level of such protection and the method by which this is achieved.

At paragraph 2 of the same condition, we specify that:

  • information must be available on the first occasion on which customers deposit funds (and on each occasion when the arrangements for the protection of customer funds change)
  • the customer must be required to actively acknowledge receipt of this information about customer funds before being permitted to gamble.

Paragraph 2 also specifies that such information (the information in both terms and conditions and prior to deposit) must be set according to any rating system specified by the Commission and in such form the Commission may from time to time specify. We set out the format that this ratings system must take in this section.

Licence condition 4.2.1

Disclosure to customers

All operating licences, except gaming machine technical, gambling software, ancillary remote bingo, ancillary remote casino licences

1. Licensees who hold customer funds must set out clearly in the terms and conditions under which they provide facilities for gambling information about whether customer funds are protected in the event of insolvency, the level of such protection and the method by which this is achieved.

2. Such information must be according to such rating system and in such form the Commission may from time to time specify. It must be provided in writing to each customer, in a manner which requires the customer to acknowledge receipt of the information and does not permit the customer to utilise the funds for gambling until they have done so, both on the first occasion on which the customer deposits funds and on the occasion of any subsequent deposit which is the first since a change in the licensee’s terms in relation to protection of such funds.

3. In this condition ‘customer funds’ means the aggregate value of funds held to the credit of customers including, without limitation:

  1. cleared funds deposited with the licensee by customers to provide stakes in, or to meet participation fees in respect of, future gambling;
  2. winnings or prizes which the customer has chosen to leave on deposit with the licensee or for which the licensee has yet to account to the customer; and
  3. any crystallised but as yet unpaid loyalty or other bonuses, in each case irrespective of whether the licensee is a party to the gambling contract.

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Assessing whether you hold customer funds
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The customer funds insolvency ratings system
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