1.Operating licence conditions

1. 1.
   Qualified persons and personal licences
2. 2.
   Technical standards, equipment specifications, remote gambling equipment and gambling software
3. 3.
   Peer to peer gaming, other networks and hosting
4. 4.
   Protection of customer funds
5. 5.
   Payment
6. 6.
   Provision of credit by licensees and the use of credit cards
7. 7.
   General ‘fair and open’ provisions
8. 8.
   Display of licensed status
9. 9.
   Types and rules of casino and other games
10. 10.
    Tipping of casino employees
11. 11.
    Lotteries
12. 12.
    Anti-money laundering
13. 13.
    Pool betting
14. 14.
    Access to premises
15. 15.
    Information requirements
16. 16.
    Responsible placement of digital adverts
17. 17.
    Customer identity verification

2.Code of practice provisions

1. 1.
   General
2. 2.
   Financial requirements
3. 3.
   Protection of children and other vulnerable persons
4. 4.
   ‘Fair and open’ provisions
5. 5.
   Marketing
6. 6.
   Complaints and disputes
7. 7.
   Gambling licensees’ staff
8. 8.
   Information requirements
9. 9.
   Gaming machines in gambling premises
10. 10.
    Assessing local risk

3.Personal licence conditions

1. 1.
   Personal licence conditions

3.4.4 - Financial vulnerability check

Applies to:

All remote licences, except any remote lottery licence the holder of which does not provide facilities for participation in instant win or high frequency lotteries¹, remote gaming machine technical, gambling software, host, ancillary remote bingo, ancillary remote casino, ancillary remote betting, remote betting intermediary (trading rooms only) and remote general betting limited licences.

Social responsibility code

Compliance with these is a condition of licences; therefore any breach of them by an operator may lead the Commission to review the operator’s licence with a view to suspension, revocation or the imposition of a financial penalty and would also expose the operator to the risk of prosecution.

In force dates:

• Social Responsibility (SR) Code 3.4.4 is in force from 30 August 2024
• paragraph 7 is in force between 30 August 2024 to 27 February 2025.

1. Licensees must undertake a financial vulnerability check for customers that meet the relevant threshold.

2. A financial vulnerability check must include at a minimum a customer-specific public record information check for significant indicators of potential financial vulnerability. The check must include whether the customer is subject to any of the following:

   • a. bankruptcy order, or equivalent, or
   • b. county court judgment (CCJ); an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA); high court judgment (HCJ); administration order (AO) or decree; Debt Relief Order (DRO); or equivalent.

3. Licensees must:

   • a. consider the financial vulnerability information they obtain, together with all of the other information they know about the customer and are permitted to use, in order to assess risk,
   • b. take proportionate action when risk is identified, and
   • c. record the rationale for the decision on proportionate action.

4. Licensees must have and put into effect policies and procedures on:

   • a. whether, when taking decisions on proportionate action, it is appropriate for such a decision to be taken manually, in a fully automated manner (offering the customer the opportunity for manual review where decisions for action are taken), or through a combination of automated processing and subsequent manual review, and
   • b. the circumstances in which immediate action is necessary to limit harm where significant risk is identified.

5. The licensee is not required to conduct this financial vulnerability check at the point when the customer reaches a relevant threshold, if the operator has previously conducted a financial vulnerability check or a financial risk assessment within the previous 12 months.

6. From 28 February 2025, the relevant threshold is where the customer’s deposits minus withdrawals exceeds £150 in a rolling 30-day period.

7. Between 30 August 2024 and 27 February 2025, the relevant threshold is where the customer’s deposits minus withdrawals exceeds £500 in a rolling 30-day period.

References

¹ A high frequency lottery is a lottery in which any draw takes place less than one hour after a draw in a previous lottery promoted on behalf of the same non-commercial society or local authority or as part of the same multiple lottery scheme.