Dispute Resolution Providers in the Gambling Industry Coming to the UK Oct. 31

As previously reported, new rules from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will take effect next Wednesday, October 31st.

With the regulator vowing to put an end to the practice of unfair treatment of consumers, a new service - alternative dispute resolution (ADR) providers in the gambling industry - is to be introduced. The ADR, which is to help with unsatisfactory complaint resolutions, will be free to use.

Duties of ADR Providers

The UKGC has detailed the standards for ADR providers, whose main task will be to help the consumer understand the complaint process better. Provided below is a breakdown of the ADR standards, courtesy of the UKGC Consumer Advocacy Specialist, Matt Halden.

ADR providers are expected to consider as many complaints as possible and promptly inform the consumer whether their complaint can or cannot be addressed. In addition, they also need to inform the consumer when the complaint has been received, and update them on all the consequent information received from the gambling business. The consumer is to be kept informed about the status of the complaint throughout the process – they must know what stage the complaint has reached at any given minute, second, and millisecond. ADR providers need to take into account consumers’ needs - including accessibility - when attempting to contact them.

Further out, the consumer must be informed that they have the right to ask the gambling company in question to be provided with just any information regarding the complaint. The only exception would be – when the request conflicts with other regulations or legislation.

Finally, the consumer must be provided with the comprehensive information on what happens at the end of the process, with the input on potential appeals being included.

Ultimately, gambling businesses will have to make certain they have set in place a process the consumer can use if they need to complain about the service provided by the ADR provider.

Publicly Disclosed Information

On top of the abovementioned, the UKGC “expects providers” to publish information that is to help the consumer gain confidence in the actual process and ADR services, including the following:

• Information about the service they provide;
• Information about the methods and timescales;
• Information about performance data that clearly shows how the service is performing against targets;
• Information about the service being independent of the gambling business - funding information included.

The UKGC will be observing how “ADR providers perform against the new standards” and has pledged to take action “if we don’t think a provider is meeting them.”

New LCCP Provisions

The establishment of ADR providers is the latest in a series of actions aimed at putting the consumer first. Namely, new LCCP (license conditions and codes of practice) provisions are already devised to minimize the risk of consumers being treated unfairly.

The UKGC hasn’t made a secret of its intention to “crackdown on operators” anticipating fraud. The new provision, among other things, explicitly demands the establishment of socially responsible marketing and advertising, clear marketing communication, and regulated third-party actions.

Source:

“Blog - New Standards for Complaints Process Put Consumers First”, gamblingcommission.gov.uk, October 24, 2018.