Compliance Updates
Special Interview: A Conversation with Tom Farrell, CMO of ClearStake
Affordability is currently the word on everyone’s lips. Operators continue to face a ‘sustainability conundrum’ – they must fulfil their regulatory obligations and commitments to player protection, while ensuring their business remains profitable. For many, affordability can spell disaster, with up to 90% of customers lost when asked to prove they have the money they are wanting to spend. However, using Open Banking to carry out these financial checks as quickly as possible may be the answer to boosting retention and retaining otherwise lost revenues.
The DCMS recently published a public consultation on the UK gambling White Paper, while the Gambling Commission launched its own on financial risk checks, bringing their importance of affordability to the top of the agenda – but operators must now strike the balance between minimising harm and maximising revenue. Affordability checks that take too long risk sending customers to competitors, or worse, the black market.
One of the key remedies to the high level of churn experienced in the past is making sure financial risk checks can be carried out quickly and with as little friction as possible, so that customers can complete them with as much ease as approving a payment while online shopping. Operators have to reach a decision quickly because the longer players wait, the more likely it is they will go elsewhere while they’re waiting.
Of course, there are some people who under no circumstances will share financial data with someone like a gambling operator. There’s also a group of people who won’t share data because they know they are gambling beyond their means. This is of course the system working as it should and that’s a good thing. But there’s a third group of people for whom it’s too much effort. They’re asked to provide bank statements, at which point they go to a competitor, as the hoops they have to jump through are not worth it.
For a customer using Open Bank technology, such as ClearStake, what used to involve downloading and printing bank statements and a wait while the operator reviews the data, now takes just 30 seconds and a few clicks. A decision is recommended to the operator immediately and theoretically, the whole process can take less than a minute. Players click a link, and they are taken to a super slick and simple process where they press a couple of buttons and the relevant financial data is shared securely. They are always in control of their data and they can revoke permission at any time.
Our software categorises every transaction and we can calculate whatever the operator wants to see. It could be disposable income, net gambling spend, total income, or current balance on the account. Our software can also evaluate the rate of change so operators can see accelerating gambling spend or consistently declining savings and work out if the player’s gambling activity is still within the safe bounds of their current financial position.
Without responsible gaming and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) checks, gambling risks being over-regulated out of existence as the product will become unprofitable. To answer the sustainability conundrum many operators face, we need to find a middle ground. Sustainability means not letting people spend beyond their means. It means letting people have a bet if they can afford to, while not taking more money than they can spend.
Over the last two or three years, the Gambling Commission got strict on affordability checks. They asked operators how they know someone could afford to lose ‘x’ amount. The White Paper effectively agreed with the Gambling Commission and has clarified that if someone is losing £2,000 in the space of three months or £1,000 in one month, operators should be confident about the player’s financial situation. The headline was that affordability and EDD checks should be taking place.
This discussion around affordability is not only limited to the UK, and we are seeing lawmakers and regulators in several other countries considering measures in this area.
The industry therefore needs to be proactive as the problem will never go away if it keeps allowing people to bet money they don’t have. In the public mind, gambling will have the same fate as cigarettes which are currently being regulated out of existence.
Compliance Updates
Department of Trust set to meet challenges of new affordability checks
Department of Trust (dotrust.co.uk), the award-winning provider of financial risk assessments for safer gambling is poised to meet the challenges of the newly announced regulations on frictionless financial checks by the UK Gambling Commission and Betting and Gaming Council.
Under the new rules published by the Gambling Commission, operators have until August 30th to implement frictionless checks on all customers making £500 net deposits in any rolling 30-day period. These frictionless checks form part of a new regime designed to protect players at risk of financial harm and replace the current ad hoc approach to affordability checks.
Department of Trust also welcomes the interim voluntary code published today by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the standards body representing over 90% of UK-regulated market operators. This code focuses on how responsible operators should support customers spending above the lower threshold set out by the Gambling Commission.
The supplier’s DoTrust Complete solution offers an integrated suite of frictionless and enhanced financial risk checks with a high level of automation capability -the only such tool built solely for safer gambling – and is perfectly positioned to help businesses navigate the newly regulated waters.
Charles Cohen, CEO of Department of Trust, said: “These important announcements flag the end of gambling’s ‘sus law’ where players faced seemingly arbitrary requests for personal information, operators were placed under a significant burden, and no one won
“We now know that in 120 days, every operator will need to perform frictionless checks on all players with net deposits in a 30-day rolling period of £500. A few months later this will fall to a much lower level.
“If operators want to protect their business, keep their customers and reduce costs, smart automation is the only answer.
“Department of Trust has spent over two years building the leading plug-and-play solution specifically for the gambling industry. Complete already automates over 90% of the processes required in both the new LCCP and BGC code. Now we know what the requirement will be, we are today committing to the goal of 100%. We want every operator and player to have instant assessments and sensible decisions cost-effectively. No one needs to lose sleep over this.”.
Asia
Uzbekistan Legalises Online Betting and Lotteries
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree on April 19 titled “On Measures to Improve the Regulation of the Organization and Conduct of Lotteries and Risk-Based Games in the Republic of Uzbekistan”. The document abolishes the ban starting from January 1, 2025, and introduces a legal framework for the organisation of risk-based games online and betting activities.
The issue of legalising betting activities has been a long-standing topic in Uzbekistan. In December 2019, the president signed a decree to legalise bookmakers, but this decision was revised in April 2022. In April 2023, the head of state instructed the development of a regulatory framework for betting activities.
The National Agency for Advanced Projects (NAAP), the authorised state body for regulating and licensing activities in this sector, provided insights on the necessity of introducing state regulation in the gambling sector in Uzbekistan. The agency emphasised the need to prevent illegal gambling businesses, protect players’ rights and generate additional income for the state budget.
The president’s decree aims to introduce advanced foreign experience and modern technologies in regulating the organisation of risk-based games and lotteries to increase investment attractiveness, tourist potential and attract additional funds to the country.
The measures outlined in the decree include the creation of legal foundations for the legalisation of activities related to risk-based games online, betting activities, and lotteries, implementation of mechanisms to protect citizens’ rights and interests, prevention of gambling addiction and the generation of additional state budget revenue.
Starting from January 1, 2025, a taxation system will be introduced for license holders, where organisers of online games, betting activities and lotteries will pay a turnover tax. This system aims to prevent the concealment of taxable revenue and is expected to generate additional tax revenues for the state budget.
Overall, the implementation of the decree is intended to establish a reliable foundation for the legal regulation of activities related to organising risk-based games online, betting activities and lotteries in Uzbekistan, protect citizens’ interests, combat gambling addiction and provide additional sources of income for the state budget.
Compliance Updates
IAGR & IMGL Open Ticket Sales for 2024 Conference in Rome
The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) has opened registrations for its annual conference, taking place in Rome, Italy, from October 21 to 24.
With the theme Navigating the Future of Gaming Regulation in a Transforming World, this year’s event is a partnership with the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL).
“IAGR and IMGL’s Rome conference is a four-day event that brings together regulators, industry thought leaders and experts to share ideas and shape the future of gaming regulation across the world,” the President for the IAGR, Ben Haden, said.
The conference follows last year’s event in Gaborone, Botswana, which brought together the largest number of attendees in IAGR’s history.
“This year, participants can look forward to diving into themes that are at the forefront of the gaming regulation landscape including advancements in technology, the evolving regulatory challenges and strategies for future-proofing the global gaming industry,” Haden said. “In an era where technology is rewriting the rules of our industry, the question isn’t whether to adapt, but how swiftly we can. IAGR 2024 is about coming together as a global community to not only keep pace with change but to drive it.”
Confirmed speakers will be announced from May.
Conference highlights:
- Expert-led sessions and panel discussions on the latest in gaming regulation
- Joint conference sessions and events with IMGL, providing further networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities
- Networking events set in the heart of Rome including an opening reception and gala dinner featuring the International Regulatory Awards ceremony
Early-bird pricing is available until July 31 with super-early bird prices available until May 31. Head to the IAGR website for more details and ticket sales.
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