UKGC Toughens ID Check Policy

Continuing on their dedicated mission to combat problem gambling, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission has rolled out a proposal regarding a more strict checking of IDs as a way of helping self-excluded gamblers stay out of harm's reach.

It has been noted that many of them refrain from ways of cheating verification systems – having succeeded, they would return to their old ways and keep gambling, putting themselves in an even greater risk.

An investigation led by BBC Radio 5 Live has shown that a self-excluded gambler could still place bets online by changing their user details. Head of problem gamblers assistance scheme, GamStop, has expressed high concerns following this outcome.

Still in Testing Phase

The UKGC’s spokesperson replied to this that they're already aware of the problem and that they're working on rectifying it:

“We will shortly announce the outcome of a consultation on ID verification and if our proposals are implemented later this year, gambling businesses will have to prevent customers gambling using incorrect details,” and added that GamStop is still in its testing phase and is currently working on improvements.

“All self-exclusion systems need to be as effective as possible to protect consumers and once we are satisfied with the scheme we’ll expect all operators to take part.”

GamStop, launched in April 2018, is already in use by 50,000 registered users who are relying on it to keep them banned from online gambling sites. CEO of GamStop, Fiona Palmer, confessed that the system is not working properly and that it can indeed by exploited with ease.

She is adamant that the entire team working on this system is looking to improve it following the feedback.

Not Everyone is Surprised

Among those who are not quite taken aback by the investigation report is Matt Zarb-Cousin, Campaign for Fairer Gambling spokesperson. He said that he hopes that the system, which should be multi-layered with lots of self-exclusion forms working together, will improve.

He commented: “Even if GamStop was completely accepted as self-exclusion it would only apply to British gambling sites and sites not licensed with the Gambling Commission would still be accessible. To be effective [self-exclusion] has to be layered … I am involved with Gamban and it has been evaluated as the most effective blocking software.”

New National Strategy Coming Soon

In December, the UK Gambling Commission announced the formation of brand-new National Responsible Gambling Strategy that will be implemented in March...

...Until then, it is to be discussed by all the interested parties – operators, regulators, betting companies as well as general public interested in participating in this wholly democratic process.

This open discussion should pave way for specific contributions that should help guide the new strategy and reduce gambling harms even further. The discussion is closing on February 15th and it will be focusing on five priority areas as defined by the Commission: research, prevention, treatment, evaluation, gambling businesses.

Source:

“UK Gambling Commission proposes stricter ID checks to prevent cheating”, Niji Ng, europeangaming.eu, January 16, 2019.