UK Parents Express Concerns over World Cup Gambling Adverts

Posted by steve_k on July 27, 2018 in Bingo, Blog, News / 1 Comment

During the recent FIFA World Cup, numerous television viewers across the UK complained of too many adverts that centered on gambling. Independent studies have as a matter of fact deduced that a combined 90 minutes of betting-related adverts were beamed to the UK screens throughout the four-week tournament.

This did not go well with most parents and caregivers in the nation. In light of this, well over 115 complaints were lodged to the UK advertising watchdog by viewers across the nation at that time. Most of the complaints were about the frequency of the adverts, the exposure of the same to small children, and the pressure tactics that were employed to push through the betting agenda.

Most parents expressed concerns that these adverts tend to make gambling appear a normal or acceptable way of life. They also decried the enticing and pressure language that the betting firms used to push their message. These, they claimed, included such terms as ‘Bet Now,’ and ‘bet in play, now!’ among others.

Under the prevailing terms of references, no gambling adverts are to be screen before the watershed moments of 9 PM onwards. The same case applies to programs or channels that are exclusively dedicated to children entertainment. Moreover, such firms are prohibited from using tactics and languages that are designed to coerce people to gamble. These rules do not, however, prohibit firms from promoting live odds when matches are in progress.

There was also a general consensus among the viewers that these adverts ate some of the time that was allocated to the FIFA matches. They subsequently asked the UK’s advertising watchdog, Advertising Standards Authority, to step in and rein on the menace.

After the formal receipt of these complains, the UK’s advertising watchdog decided to embark on independent investigations. At the moment, the watchdog agency is evaluating those complaints to ascertain whether they indeed meet the threshold that is necessary for a formal investigation.

The watchdog is also set to determine whether those tactics that were used by the various betting firms violated the stipulated UK advertising codes. Of particular interest to the watchdog agency will be whether the tactics went against the new rules that were established in February to combat problem gambling.

It will be interesting to note the subsequent course of action that the watchdog shall take. This is because FIFA matches do not fall under the jurisdiction of the watchdog. Because of this, watchdog agency lacks the mandate to penalize or enforce such rules on the program.

The watchdog shall most likely follow in the footsteps of other watchdogs world over. They might tighten the noose on gambling adverts and the revenues that are derived from advertising. This is to hinder the popularity and the adoption of gambling as a whole.

Italy, for instance, has taken the lead in doing so. The nation’s Minister for Labour and Economic Development, Luigi Di Maio, has already proposed to ban all forms of gambling advertisements. The only exceptions to this rule, he stated, will be the companies that already have advertising contracts.

Australia has also banned any form of advertising during the day, even for live sports. This shall greatly reduce the number of persons who will most likely view the adverts, keep small children off such adverts, and contribute towards combating problem gambling.

The jury is out. It waits to be seen the kinds of recommendations that the watchdog shall propose. It also waits to be seen the reactions and responses that the various stakeholders shall put forth. This is also interesting considering the liberalized nature of much of the UK’s business sectors.

‘Nobody Harmed By Gambling:’ William Hill Commits To Eradicating Problem Gambling

Posted by martha on July 19, 2018 in Bingo, Blog, News / 2 Comments

William Hill has admitted that problem gambling is a major social problem in the United Kingdom. The firm admitted that it together with the industry players have failed in tracking the harm caused by problem gambling.

On the 16th of July, 2018, William Hill launched a new corporate objective ‘Nobody Harmed by Gambling’ to guide his or her efforts in eradicating problem gambling in the United Kingdom. The initiative has seen the firm place corporate sustainability and social responsibility at the forefront of its daily operations.

William Hill’s initiative follows pressure from Gambling Commission and stakeholders in the sector on the need to reduce problem gambling rates with a major focus on television advertising. The Gambling Commission estimates that more than 430,000 Britons are problem gamblers. Additionally, two million Britons are at risk of becoming problem gamblers. The commission has also proved that for every problem gambler, six people in the society are affected.

The firm appointed Lyndsay Wright as its first director of sustainability and tasked her with the duty of implementing the new campaign. Her appointment adds on to her existing responsibilities of investor relations and strategy.

Announcing the campaign, Wright insisted that it was a critical move for the firm more so considering its future. She said, “We are an 84-year-old business, and if we want to be here for the next 84 years, we have got to do this the right way.” She argued that identifying the right solution to problem gambling is the only way the firm would be guaranteed of its long-term success.

Hills campaign’s immediate action plan is to push for registered play across all gambling products and improving advertisements on live sports.

Additionally, Hills published nine core commitments that will guide its long-term social responsibility of having a responsible gambling society. The nine commitments detail immediate actions, long-term programmes, and wider collaborations.

Immediate actions will entail pilot mandatory tools for its at-risk customers. Through the action, Hills is seeking to impose time limits for players aged between 18 and 21 years.

It intends to avail better data to its customers as a way of helping them make more conscious gambling decisions.

Hills also plans to roll out robust training programmes on its customers in partnership with gambling experts. Through the training, Hills will improve gambling literacy so that its customers make informed choices.

The campaign’s long-term programmes will include creating a responsible gambling innovation fund, developing key performance indicators on responsible gambling, and developing a new program for its workforce to work with problem gambling support organizations in the community.

As part of the nine collaborations, William Hills will develop ‘wider collaborations.’ The firm will convene experts so that they can crowdsource on new ideas and share the strategies that have worked for them, drive change on television advertising during live sports events, and push for industry-wide adoption of mandatory account-based pay.

Wright announced that the staff training will be structured based on the findings and research carried out by BetKnowMore UK program. She also stated that the firm is seeking community partners to enhance the staff training. Wright emphasized that the training would be done at all levels of the firm’s corporate management structure.

Wright expressed concerns that over the years, people’s perception of gambling has changed negatively. She revealed that the evident change prompted the firm to start thinking of a strategy they can employ to eradicate problem gambling nine months ago.

Addressing the firm’s target with the new campaign, Wright said, “We want our customers to enjoy gambling and stay gambling for the long term, but that can only mean they can gamble what they can afford.”

Emphasizing the importance of ‘Nobody Harmed By Gambling’ Phillip Bowcock, William Hill’s Group Chief Executive, insisted that the industry must recognize the ‘hidden side’ of gambling and help customers not fall victims. “Society expects it, our customers need it, and a sustainable future for William Hill depends on it.”

The UK Gambling Commission set to make Gambling to be Safer and Fairer

Posted by steve_k on July 10, 2018 in Bingo, Blog, News / 1 Comment

The UK gambling commission intends to find measures that will make gambling safer and fairer. To make this possible, the organization has come up with a report called, “raising standards for consumers.”

The report covers self-exclusion, customer interaction, unfair terms, anti-money laundering and illegal gambling activities. Operators are required to pay close attention to the lessons that are set in the report. They need to find ways to keep their consumers safer and to make the gambling activities fairer.

According to Neil McArthur, the regulator’s boss not nearly enough has been done so far. “There is also more that can be done to ensure that customers are treated right and that they are kept safe while they gamble. I want to make changes that will start with the companies at the top.”

“We need to make sure that we use the power we have to drive a culture that requires operators to comply with the right rules from the beginning and it needs to protect consumers and drive profits,” he continued.

The operators 32Red Company was the most recently penalized for not complying with these regulations. They had to pay $2.62 million because they were found guilty of money laundering and not offering their customers adequate protection from gambling-related problems. William Hill was also fined in February £6.2 million for the same reasons.

The second largest punishment dished out by the commission was £ 7.8 million to 888 because they failed to protect their customers and their money.

Actions such as this one indicate the steps that the UK government and other regulatory bodies, advisory group and charities have taken to point out and find solutions to the problems in the industry. Mainly, these bodies are dedicated to making sure that underage people do not start gambling.

Recently the UK advertising standards authority recently enforced child protection so that the gambling sites would not be accessible to young children. For instance, the coral gambling adverts that include leprechaun were banned. The animated advertisements were found to be appealing to the under 18 children. Online slot adverts were also banned because they may pop up while an underage person is on the internet and they may be tempted to sign up.

The gambling industry in the UK continues to grow. As of September 2017, the industry has 106,366 employees. It also made £13.9 billion between April 2016 and March 2017. The statistics have also shown that up to 95% of all gamblers often gamble at home.

Companies need to put measures that allow them to notice unusual gambling patterns from their customers. The unusual patterns may be due to money laundering or people facing financial issues as a result of feeding their gambling problems for a long time.

Firms are required to do full background checks of their customers. These checks should show how the customers are getting their money and whether they can afford to pay their bills and gamble the amounts they put forward.

Operators have to put the welfare of their customers first and have an overall financial view of their customer’s right from the beginning. The companies need to check the deposits being put in carefully. If they question the amounts deposited, they need to limit the players or stop them from playing altogether.

The commission works with the advertising standards authority to ensure that operators who defy the rules put in place are fined for targeting vulnerable customers. With the right treatment, customers will not lose their financial stability.

32Red Gambling Company Hit with £2M Penalty for Failing to Safe Guard A Problem Gambler

Posted by martha on June 29, 2018 in Bingo, Blog, News / 1 Comment

The Swedish-owned betting firm, 32Red has been slapped with a £2 million fine. This is due to its failure to protect a problem gambler and also conferring on his VIP status.

32RED The commission that is charged with the responsibility of regulating gambling found the company complicit in facilitating excessive gambling by one of its clients. In total, the commission noted, there were 22 incidents in which the behaviors of the said client should have been questioned and investigated but never happened.

32Red, it is alleged, allowed the said problem gambler to deposit a whopping £758,000 between 2014 and 2017. This amounted to an average of around £45,000 per month notwithstanding the fact that the said client had a monthly salary of just £2,150!

The betting firm did attempt to defend itself though. It gave evidence to the effect that the problem gambler in question had a monthly income of around £13,000. This evidence was however refuted by the regulatory agencies on the grounds that it was incredible.

Moreover, 32Red it is said only reviewed the account of the said problem gambler after he won a 7-digit amount which he quickly gambled yet again. This served to prove beyond reasonable doubts that the betting firm was, in fact, encouraging the person to gamble more, rather than abetting the practice, as should have been the case.

In light of these, the betting firm was slapped with a further £709,046 fine for the divestment of the financial gain, £1.3m payment to the National Responsible Gambling Strategy, and a further £15,000 to cover the overall costs of the investigation.

While justifying these moves, the commission’s executive director Mr. Richard Watson, had this to say, ‘Operators have to see to it that they take appropriate steps whenever they spot any signs of problem gambling. As such, they have to promptly review all the customers that they do have a high level of contacts with.’

The betting firm did admit its culpability when confronted. Furthermore, an independent third party did also audit the procedures, controls, and policies of the Anti-money Laundering commission. The recommendations made were also accepted and adopted.

There were concerns as to whether the problem gambler may have stolen the money. The commission was swift to respond though that there have been no signs or credible evidence to that effect as of now. Here is what the commission’s spokesman had to say:

‘We are not aware of the source of the gamblers wealth as of now. This is because the operator did not fulfill its mandate to the commission in conformity to the existing anti-money laundering obligations. We, therefore, are unable to comment further on the issue.’

To prevent a recurrence of the same issue in future, a complete review of all the existing active customers was effected. The affected company decided to put in place a behavior monitoring system. This is to detect and respond promptly to any such suspicious activities in future.

An independent third-party audit of AML policies, procedures, and controls with recommendations accepted and implemented. The affected company also ordered a full review of all its active customers against the revised policies.

The regulatory authority also decided to implement a raft of measures to forestall the recurrence of these problems in future. These include the introduction of a group Anti-Money Laundering or Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) policy and the integration of the various betting firms to a single platform across companies, among others.

These measures will make it easier for the various operators in the field of gambling to monitor the behaviors of their clients. They will find it easier to share data and investigate any suspicious activities as well. With these measures in place, the likelihood of similar incidents taking place later is very minimal.