The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has announced its support to the “Peers for Gambling Reform” that will consist of 150 Lords from the upper house of government which will shape the government’s path on any future gambling legislation.

Michael Dugher, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “As the new standards body for the regulated sector, the BGC is committed to driving big changes in the regulated betting and gaming industry.

“It is important to remember that the vast majority of the nearly 30 million UK adults who enjoy an occasional flutter every year, either on the Lottery, bingo, sports, casinos or gaming, do so perfectly safely. But one problem gambler is one too many and that is why – like the new peers’ group – we also support reform. It is also why we welcomed the House of Lords committee report into the social and economic impact of the gambling industry earlier this year.

“Since being set up last year, the BGC have introduced a range of measures to ensure we are leading a race to the top on standards. These include cooling off periods on gaming machines, encouraging deposit limits, closing off VIP schemes to under-25s and massively increasing funding for research, education and treatment.

“At the start of the Covid lockdown, BGC members voluntarily removed all TV and radio advertising, and have agreed that at least 20 per cent of those ads will be safer gambling messages going forward.

“Our members also introduced the whistle to whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, which has reduced the number seen by young people at those times by 97 per cent. And from 1 October, tough new measures will come into force to further prevent under-18s from being able to see betting adverts.

“We want to go further, however, and that is why we look forward to working with the Government on the forthcoming Gambling Review.”

Google has removed the Paytm App, one of India’s biggest digital payment apps, for several hours from its online store for breaching gambling rules, a day before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament.

Betting is illegal in India, but the countdown to the 53-day IPL has seen a profusion of online ads for fantasy sports sites, which are allowed in many parts of the country. Paytm had recently launched a fantasy cricket tournament that involved cash bets and violated the Google Play Store’s policies.

“Today afternoon, we received communication from Google that they are suspending our app because they believe this to be a violation of their Play Store policies on gambling,” the company said.

However, the app was back on the platform Friday evening after removing a “cashback” feature on “a recently-launched game on the application,” the Press Trust of India reported.

“Update: And we’re back!” Paytm tweeted.

In many countries, online gaming isn’t part of the regulatory environment. That’s because most gaming laws were passed long before the Internet came along. Where online casinos are allowed, the rules aren’t written in stone.

They change frequently, often to adjust tax rate or raise regulatory standards. That said, the world is slowly changing its stance on online casinos. An industry traditionally rejected by politicians and lobbyists is now welcomed, albeit with fast-changing rules.

Below is an overview of the evolving regulatory framework of online gaming globally.

Emphasizing Transparency

If you have visited an online casino lately, you must have realized they are more transparent than ever before. They no longer hide their license numbers, office addresses or contact details.

Instead, they provide every piece of information you need.

Online casinos aren’t suddenly transparent out of their own kindness. They’ve been directed to become more open with their customers. That way, no one has to create an account and spend money at a gaming site based on misleading information.

That transparency is pretty crucial when it comes to payments and bonuses. On the one hand, you want to know about fees, limits and processing times beforehand. On the flip side, you want to accept bonuses only after you understand their terms and conditions.

Of course, not all casinos are entirely transparent. In many cases, you’ll need to read their terms and conditions to discover the nitty gritty of their services. For example, they might reveal their bonus wagering requirements beforehand. But they could hide information about withdrawal limits in their terms and conditions webpages.

Encouraging Social Responsibility

Social responsibility has been a trending topic for the past five years. It’s something everyone involved in the online gaming sector wants to talk about for selfless or business reasons. In Britain, the UKGC requires operators to have tools and partnerships with programs that can help problem gamblers.

It also works with non-profit organizations to help raise the standards for safe casino gaming or to help players in some way. With that in mind, nearly every online casino in Britain has a way of preventing casino harm.

At some websites, you get software to restrict your weekly and monthly budgets. Also, you receive a hotline or link to a website you can call if you need intervention. These days, online casino also works with Gamstop—an NGO that helps casino players self-exclude from gaming websites in the UK.

 How Gamstop Works

Gamstop provides you with an online form on which you fill your name, date of birth, email address, mobile number and home address. You also specific how long you want to be excluded from online casinos: six months, one or five years.

After that, it circulates your information every online casino licensed by the UKGC. It also orders them to blacklist you for the time you specified. After your self-exclusion period is over, you can contact Gamstop to deactivate your account.

Unfortunately, your records don’t just fade away. Every online casino gets a memo that you’ve registered for Gamstop’s program in the past. Some casinos might then reject you fearing you could still have problem gaming.

There’s an alternative, though, and you can find more information here. But basically, it helps you find safe casinos not regulated by the UKGC. Also, they don’t work with Gamstop, so you don’t have to worry not finding a gaming website.

Regional Regulation in North America

In both the US and Canada, online gambling regulation is now a regional issue. In the US, states legalize and regulate the industry. In Canada, provinces make the rules and authorize operators to run online casinos.

There are several more countries where online gaming is regulated on a regional level:

Germany, South Africa and Australia, to name a few. And all of them cite one benefit: it’s easier to regulate gaming markets within a province or state compared to national level.

Will Britain follow suit? Unlikely. The UK shows no signs of taking away the gaming regulatory mandate from the UKGC and genuinely so. For a long time, Britain has been a paragon of how to regulate online casinos professionally and transparently.

As such, the focus isn’t be on devolving online casinos. It is on regulating it properly regardless of who does it. After all, the majority of countries aren’t large enough to devolve online gaming.

Relaxed Advertising Laws

For a long time, most countries had strict gambling advertising rules. Some nations like Spain still have prohibitive advertising laws for remote gaming companies. But generally speaking, the world is moving towards an environment where operators can market their content freely.

For example, online casinos are no longer prohibited from advertising on television. Sure, they can’t run adverts during the day. But they have an allocated time when they can market their games and bonuses.

Likewise, they can also advertise on websites and mobile apps. The only restriction is to avoid running ads on websites frequented by children. Additionally, they can’t involve young persons in their marketing efforts.

Expanding and Privatizing Gaming Businesses

In many countries where online gaming is legal, operators didn’t always have the freedom to offer all gaming positions. In contrast, players didn’t always have the choice on where they can bet on sports.

Instead, some countries used to run online gaming through monopoly government agencies.

Norway still uses that system. But more countries globally are privatizing gaming so that players have a variety of casinos to use.

In contrast, countries are also expanding their lists of allowed gaming positions. As a result, slot websites no longer have a limit on the number of machines they can provide. And they are not prohibited to provide certain games for any reason.

Conclusion

The online gaming industry is undergoing a progressive revolution. And it does not just mean there will be more gaming sites in the future. It means operators have more freedom on games to provide and how to market their services. In contrast, it means players have access to more and better gaming platforms.