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Strategy

National Strategic Assessment 2020

This report sets out our latest assessment of the issues we face and the risks that gambling poses to consumers and the public

Published
6 November 2020

Last updated
3 June 2021 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. COVID-19 and its impact on gambling consumers
  3. What action did we take in phase 1

What action did we take in phase 1

In May we issued new guidance for online operators to help reduce the risk of harm. The guidance instructed operators to:

  • urgently review their thresholds48 and triggers to reflect the change in circumstances, adopting a precautionary approach

  • keep under review duration of play for customers as an indicator of harm and keep this under review to identify changes which warrant intervention

  • conduct effective affordability checks during the life of the customer relationship but particularly during this crisis

  • prevent reverse withdrawals which have been linked to problem gambling behaviours and harm

  • restrict bonus offers to those displaying indicators of harm.

References

48 Although there was a slight decrease in the % of total sessions which lasted over an hour - 9.2% of sessions lasted over an hour in March to 8.9% in May

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Our assessment of the risks and issues during phase 1 Next section
What did we see in phase 2?
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