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3 Protection of children and other vulnerable persons

3.5.8 - Non-remote lottery SR code

Applies to:

All non-remote lottery 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.

1 Licensees must have and put into effect procedures for self-exclusion and take all reasonable steps to refuse service or to otherwise prevent an individual who has entered a self-exclusion agreement from participating in gambling.

  1. Licensees must, as soon as practicable, take all reasonable steps to prevent any marketing material being sent to a self-excluded customer.

  2. Licensees must take steps to remove the name and details of a self-excluded individual from any marketing databases used by the company or group (or otherwise flag that person as an individual to whom marketing material must not be sent), within two days of receiving the completed self-exclusion notification.

  3. This covers any marketing material relating to gambling, or other activities that take place on the premises where gambling may take place. However, it would not extend to blanket marketing which is targeted at a particular geographical area and where the excluded individual would not knowingly be included.

  4. Licensees must close any customer accounts of an individual who has entered a self-exclusion agreement and return any funds held in the customer account. It is not sufficient merely to prevent an individual from withdrawing funds from their customer account whilst still accepting wagers from them. Where the giving of credit is permitted, the licensee may retain details of the amount owed to them by the individual, although the account must not be active.

  5. Licensees must put into effect procedures designed to ensure that an individual who has self- excluded cannot gain access to gambling. These procedures must include:

    1. a register of those excluded with appropriate records (name, address, other details, and any membership or account details that may be held by the operator);
    2. a facility for someone self-excluding to provide a signature; and
    3. staff training to ensure that staff are able to administer effectively the systems.
  6. Licensees must, when administering the self-exclusion agreement, signpost the individual to counselling and support services.

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