Joining The Fight Against Predatory Terms

The UK online gambling industry is being dealt a series of powerful blows following findings by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Gambling Commission.

The investigation concluded that players may be losing out due to “inadequate or unclear information about the restrictions and conditions that apply to the promotion before sign-up” and “restrictions on their right to withdraw winnings…unless they meet extensive wagering requirements”.

Wagering Requirements

Wagering requirements associated with casino bonuses have been in existence for years, at least since crafty players realised they could profit from the bonuses with little or no risk. Nevertheless, they have sat quietly hidden away in the terms and conditions of online casino websites, with few genuine players being aware of their existence.

The terms protect online casinos from bonus abuse by requiring that players wager a bonus several times over before they can become eligible to withdraw it or any winnings won from it. Whilst wagering requirements are necessary in their own right to prevent abuse, casinos have taken the terms to the extreme and in many cases impose excessive wagering requirements making it impossible for players to withdraw legitimate winnings.

Furthermore, the investigation raised concerns that wagering requirements force players to “play for longer than they had bargained for before they can withdraw money” and “players may not be able to withdraw what remains of their deposit, and any winnings, when they want to stop playing”.

Consequently, wagering requirements can not only be used to confiscate winnings unfairly, but could also be a contributing factor towards irresponsible gambling – the very issue the Gambling Commission exists to prevent.

Enforcement Action

Since 2015 UK license holders have been required to include in their promotions any significant terms and conditions to avoid misleading players. Largely unfazed by the guidelines it was business as normal for online casinos, until May 2017 when BGO Entertainment were fined £300,000 over misleading advertising on its own and its affiliates’ websites.

The fine was followed up by a warning from the Gambling Commission over unfair practices and promotions surrounding wagering requirements and restrictive terms. Together, they sent shockwaves through the industry and led to a flurry of operators promptly displaying the significant terms of their bonuses prominently across their websites. Additionally, affiliates were also ordered to comply else have their agreements and commissions terminated.

To top it off, August 2017 saw 888 being fined a record-breaking £7.8million as a result of “serious failings in its handling of vulnerable customers”, reiterating the Gambling Commission’s stance on non-compliance.

Transparency

Today, players don’t have to look hard to notice the effort made by operators and their affiliates to prominently display significant exclusions and limitations of promotions. It seems that casinos can be transparent about their terms and conditions after all.

However, as a result of this increase in transparency, it has become more apparent just how predatory and unfair the small-print terms have been for all this time, and in most cases, the terms remain unchanged.

The more savvy players will think twice about claiming bonuses or entering promotions with excessive wagering requirements or limitations. For others however, the term “wagering requirement” and the conditions associated with them remain meaningless.

Going “Wager Free”

The confusion surrounding wagering requirements was enough to lead BGO into adopting a “no wagering” model with its promotions. This October they announced that they were going “wager free” and would have no wagering requirements on any of their bonuses, free spins, or promotions.

Although few and far between, wager-free bonuses and free spins are nothing new to the industry, but this is the first time a leading brand has announced they are making the switch entirely.

The commotion has also seen the launch of NoWagering – a website dedicated to casinos with no wagering requirements. Their aim is to make players realise they do have a choice of where to play and to favour casinos with fair wagering terms.

NoWagering’s founder Pavlos Sideris stated “We hope the move taken by BGO to go wager-free will resonate throughout the industry” and that “we could be witnessing an industry-wide trend where casinos compete on favourable terms rather than the size of their bonus”.

With a growing number of casinos shouting about their “wager free bonuses” it would certainly appear that there is somewhat of a trend taking place; and with new “no wagering” casino PlayOJO winning “Rising Star of the Year” award at the EGR Operator Awards 2017, it would also appear that so too is their popularity.