The regulator plans “targeted investment” in five priority areas, including the National Lottery.
UK.- The British Gambling Commission has identified priority areas of improvement in its corporate strategy for the next four years. It plans to make “targeted investment” in key areas.
The regulator highlighted two areas of focus for 2024 to 2027: the delivery of gambling white paper measures for lasting changes to gambling provision and investment in key areas to ensure efficiency in regulation.
The first category includes the contentious area of affordability checks as well as online casino stake limits and, possibly, new advertising rules. While the stake limit for online slots has already been announced, other white paper changes have still to be finalised. The question of affordability, or financial risk checks, has been particularly controversial. The Gambling Commission said it will continue to work with the government and with the industry to “strike the right balance”.
It also put a focus on the National Lottery, which was taken over by Allwyn in February. The regulator said it would work with Allwyn to guarantee a successful future for the lottery.
On the second point, the Gambling Commission said that it would make “targeted investment” in priority areas to ensure more effective and efficient regulation in the future. It said it would invest “in our approaches, our systems, the evidence we rely on and, most importantly, our people” in order to improve licensing, compliance and enforcement work. It said it would consider a positive, longer-term approach.
“In this way we can ensure our regulation continues to reflect developments in the gambling industry with the ultimate aim to provide the best outcomes for consumers and the public.
“We intend to look at opportunities that exist for new regulatory approaches to build on the work outlined within this strategy, such as earned recognition and we will be testing and learning what works and what does not. All these actions will ensure that we improve the way we work to ensure gambling is fairer, safer and crime free for the benefit of consumers and the wider public,” it added.
It identified five key areas of strategic focus: using data and analytics to make regulation more effective; enhancing core operational functions; setting clear evidence-based requirements for licensees; proactively addressing issues at the earliest opportunity; regulating a successful National Lottery.
The regulator said: “We have identified these areas based on our understanding of the gambling industry and developments since 2021, including the award of the fourth National Lottery licence and the commitments in the government’s white paper, High Stakes – Gambling Reform for the Digital Age. They also reflect our experience of regulating including evidence from casework, consumer engagement, research, data and input from stakeholders including our advisory groups.”
On the final issue of the National Lottery, the Gambling Commission said it would ensure the lottery is run in a “fit and proper manner” and will protect all participants while maximising returns for good causes.
“This strategy will improve gambling regulation and move us closer to that vision,” it said. “These outcomes reflect our vision, regulatory role and remit. All of our work is ultimately aimed at helping deliver these headline regulatory outcomes. We will demonstrate our progress in delivering them by measuring and publishing impact metrics associated with each outcome.”
