Shares in bookmakers Entain, Flutter and 888 all rose Thursday as investors reckoned the sector had got off lightly in the long-awaited white paper.
Culture, media, and sports secretary Lucy Frazer said new proposals would focus on six key areas - online protection, marketing, the gambling commission's power, protecting children, on-premises operations, and dispute resolutions.
Jette Nygaard-Andersen chief executive officer of Ladbrokes owner Entain immediately welcomed the paper, hailing the “the clarity that it will bring to the industry and customers.”
“It is an important step towards having a robust regulatory framework that is fit for the digital age and creates a level playing field for all operators,” she added.
Online protections
As expected, the Gambling Commission is to be the main plank for regulating the industry, with a remit to target poor practices related to binge gambling, significant unfordable losses and financially vulnerable customers.
Unintrusive checks will begin for users that make a net loss of £125 in a month or £500 within a year.
These checks will escalate, but remain unintrusive, should gamblers begin to lose £1,000 within a day or £2,000 in 90 days.
New technologies and payment regulations should help improve the verification of users, making it harder for people to set up multiple accounts, Frazer said.
Also confirmed was that stakes on slots would be limited to between £2 and £15.
Marketing and advertising
Regulation of bonuses and direct marketing, especially through practices involved with online VIP schemes is also being stepped up.
“The Commission will continue to hold licensees accountable for the activity of their marketing affiliates,” said Frazer.
In terms of sports betting adverts, the responsibility has been left to the individual sports, allowing governing bodies to decide the approaches and measures.
Gambling Commission’s power
Created in 2005 to regulate gambling companies, the Commission will see its licence fees reviewed next year so the government can ensure it has enough funding to deliver the new objectives.
A statutory levy paid by operators is planned to be introduced and will be collected by the Commission.
The government also wants to increase the Commission's power in tackling illegal gambling operators by giving it power over internet service and payment providers.
Dispute resolutions
Around 2,000 customer complaints are made per year on average and are investigated by the gambling commission.
Yet, the organisation can’t force operators to refund users even if the companies are found to be in the wrong, leading to costly and time-consuming court actions for wronged individuals.
Therefore, the white paper has targeted the creation of an ombudsman to “adjudicate complaints relating to social responsibility or gambling harm”.
“We expect the ombudsman to be established within a year, with the process for appointing it to begin in summer 2023,” the paper stated.
Protecting children and young adults
Young people aged between 18 and 24 will face tighter checks even when losing smaller amounts.
The paper also plans to challenge operators that still offer products to people aged 16 and 17, after raising the age limit of the lottery to 18 in 2021.
Land-based gambling
As online gambling continues to grow, the government has proposed plans to help rejuvenate the on-premises sector.
Some casinos will see lighter regulation in terms of the number of machines on site and the government hopes to let the venues offer sports betting too.
For bingo premises, the whiter paper aims to help increase the bets that can be made by allowing for side bets or machine games.