Helping companies to fully understand and act upon the UK Gambling Commission’s new guidelines to protect customers from risk harm, training will become available over a month ahead of impending changes. 

Dan Spencer, Director of Safer Gambling at EPIC Risk Management, commented: “I’m glad to announce that our course has been updated to the new guidance and remains fully accredited. 

“We’ve had some amazing success delivering this course over the last 18 months, showing an average increase in confidence and ability of 20 per cent to those who have taken the course.”

A total of 14 requirements will take effect from September 12, with EPIC updating its service since the changes were first unveiled in June.

The aforementioned guideline changes are focused on identifying indicators of harm, acting to prevent further harm via interaction and ongoing evaluation of operator’s interactions and process effectiveness. 

Moreover, EPIC noted that the new requirements “already tally” with its “proactive commitment” to prevention as the UKGC adds more emphasis on operators to tailor interactions to the severity of signs of harm. 

Spencer concluded: “The Gambling Commission has been more specific around interactions and this course covers not just compliance, but truly having effective and confident conversations with players at an early stage. 

“Customer interactions should be part of daily business now across the industry and we can help make those interactions the very best they can be.”

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Speaking at the GambleAware annual conference, on the theme “Collaboration in the Prevention of Gambling Harm”, Philp stressed that the Commission is “central” to all of the government’s “promising projects”.

He also noted that operators who meet and surpass the Commission’s standards have “nothing to worry about”, yet gave a stern warning to those who do not, pinpointing the upcoming white paper which he noted will provide further detail on how the UKGC will be equipped to deal with various challenges across the gambling sector, both today and in the future. 

In addition to the aforementioned, Philp stressed that gambling harm “cannot be tackled effectively by working in isolation”, stating it takes “important input” from various groups like the lived experience community, researchers, treatment providers, the industry and the government. 

“I was appointed minister for tech and the digital economy in September, with two key priorities,” Philp said. “Firstly, delivering on the manifesto commitment to make the UK the safest place in the world to go online and set the global standard for internet safety. 

“Secondly, is the manifesto commitment to comprehensively review the Gambling Act to ensure we have the right protections for the digital age.

“The government considers gambling-related harm to be a health issue and a public health issue, and preventing harm is an essential objective of our gambling regulation. It’s our duty in government and more widely to prevent people from being led down a path to a dark destination.”

Bringing attention to the government’s review of the 2005 Gambling Act, Philp stated that he wants to “make sure” the government is doing “much more” to protect the minority of gamblers who are suffering and to prevent others from falling into that position.

He added: “Our review is looking at a very wide range of issues and our call for evidence received 16,000 submissions which we are considering carefully. We will publish a white paper which sets out our vision for the sector in the coming months.”

Moving forward, Philp turned the focus on areas where he thought were opportunities for “innovation” in the interest of consumers, stating the need for operators to “step in” when a customer is at risk of harm to “talk to them, impose limits or help them set their own, or perhaps even close their account”. 

As part of this, he highlighted that a “robust system” to prevent unaffordable online gambling will have a “transformative impact”.

“We have all seen and heard too many cases of people spending enormous sums and operator interventions coming too late,” Philp continued.

“Of course, people’s circumstances differ and not everyone who spends a lot is at risk. But unaffordable losses are a key sign of out of control gambling that is causing harm… So it is essential the right checks are made and in a digital age we need to harness data to do this effectively.”

To be workable and prevent harm, Philp emphasised that affordability checks need to be proportionate. 

“As the Commission has said, demanding payslips or bank statements from every customer spending £100 or so is likely to be unwelcome, disruptive and disproportionate to the risks. But there is a level that is appropriate.

“As minister for digital, I am really keen to explore the role of technology and available data, such as that held by credit reference agencies, to make these sorts of checks work smoothly in a way that is acceptable to customers. 

“At high levels of gambling, more intrusive checks are appropriate. I also want to be clear that checks based on spend and financial circumstances must supplement rather than supersede all the existing requirements on operators to monitor play data, identify risk and intervene accordingly.”

Addressing operators, the gambling minister called for the need of right processes to intervene and prevent harm on individual platforms. Lauding the strides already made in developing algorithms, Philp stressed that efforts made by operators to prevent harm are “undermined” if a person with a gambling problem “can simply switch to another operator”, stating that “shoring up our systems to prevent this must be a priority”.

Hailing the success of Gamstop’s self-exclusion scheme as an example of the benefits from sector-wide protections capitalising on technology available, Philp subsequently called on financial services to “pick up the gauntlet” and work closely with regulators to “develop a system that works”.

“Like Gamstop, a single customer view solution will protect a person, not just their account with one operator.

“It is of course vital that any data sharing is done safely, securely and proportionately. I am glad the Commission has worked closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office which has now confirmed that a single customer view can be delivered with these values at its core.

“We know data sharing is well established in financial services. I know there are representatives from industry in the audience today, so I want to be clear in my message; now is the time for you to pick up the gauntlet and work closely with both regulators to develop a system that works.”

Addressing findings revealed by Public Health England’s evidence review on gambling-related harms, Philp believes it has been “made clear” that there is “more work to do to understand the drivers of gambling disorder”. The minister noted that an important part of the solution is improving the quality of data that the Gambling Commission as a regulator, the government, along with researchers and clinical experts have access to.  

Concluding, Philp stated: “I see great promise in the development of a data repository as a pillar in our work to fill the gaps that still exist in our understanding.

“This will of course need to be complemented by the appropriate analytical expertise, so as part of the review, we are exploring the scope for more investment in data capability within the Gambling Commission. 

“They need powers to regulate the enormous and innovative gambling industry, including the ability to requisition and analyse bulk account-level data from operators to identify whether they’re doing what they’re supposed to under their licence conditions.”

Responding to the minister’s speech, Zoe Osmond, CEO of GambleAware, added: “We welcome the minister’s announcement that the government is working with the Gambling Commission to take steps to better protect people at risk of gambling harms through affordability checks, a single customer view, and a data repository to inform intervention and uphold industry standards.

“We are also pleased to hear that the government endorses stronger collaboration between treatment providers, policymakers, and the industry in supporting those at risk of experiencing gambling harms. We have long called for a whole system approach to addressing the prevalence of gambling harms in Great Britain, as the only way to comprehensively support those in need.

“We welcome the minister’s confirmation that the government is reviewing the funding model for treatment, prevention and research. We have been consistently clear that mandatory funding is the only way to ensure that support to address gambling harms gets the resource required.”

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Lottomart, which recently gained its Gibraltar licence, is deploying Rockolo’s Gibraltar and London clouds. The Gibraltar cloud with host Lottomart’s development environments while London will be used to deliver lower latency to UK players.

Operators and supplier’s using the Rockolo cloud platform only pay for the resources they use, offering greater flexibility to start-ups especially.

Danny Hook, managing director of Rockolo, said: “We are thrilled that Lottomart opted to host its IT infrastructure in our cloud. In doing so, the operator has been able to streamline IT costs and reroute savings into other aspects of its business.”

Ashley Lang, Lottomart CEO, added: “Rockolo’s cloud offering allows for rapid expansion of our new and exciting online gaming products without the need for capital expenditure from the outset.

“Their pay-by-the-hour model allows the infrastructure to scale with our business.”

Lottomart was established in 2017 and has used Rockolo’s cloud technology for IT infrastructure hosting from the beginning, enabling the operator to scale its operations in line with demand while only paying for the resources used each month.

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Saacks joined Videoslots in January, 2017, as an executive affiliate manager. He will now take a lead in liaising with affiliates, ensuring they are satisfied with their relationship with the operator and will continue to promote the Videoslots brand.

Gemma Hodge, head of human resources at Videoslots.com, said: “Miles has shown a dedication and a hunger for all things Videoslots since his arrival and fully deserves to be appointed as head of affiliates.

“His love for the job is nothing short of admirable and it’s clear to see both affiliates and internal staff members enjoy working with him. We are sure this is going to be a brilliant appointment.”

Saacks added: “Every day at Videoslots is different and that’s why I love it so much. I couldn’t be prouder that my efforts have been recognised.

“We are a hard-working and dedicated team that works perfectly together in order to achieve our goals. Videoslots has come so far as a brand and I look forward to continuing that progression.”

Saacks’ progression through the company reinforces Videoslots’ policy of promoting from within, following the recent promotions of Clayton Marquette, Lorraine Sammut and Ricardo Ruiz.

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Launched in May and licensed in the UK and Curaçao, the Bet On Aces casino has a portfolio of more than 3,300 games from leading providers including BetSoft, iSoftBet, Microgaming, NetEnt and NYX Gaming.

The casino offers the latest slots, progressive jackpot games, live casino and virtual reality casino titles. Casino players that deposit €50, €100 or €250 (or currency equivalent) will receive a matched bonus. Bet On Aces also runs a monthly iPhone X giveaway, and a private jet trip to Monaco with super-yacht accommodation are among the brand’s VIP prizes.

To mark the launch of the new programme, Bet On Aces is offering 50 per cent revenue share to affiliates for the first three months, reverting to 35 per cent thereafter. Cost per acquisition, fixed-fee and hybrid deals are also available.

Sezin Ozel, managing director at Bet On Aces, said: “Affiliates will play a huge part in building our player base, and our new program – with leading affiliate software and management from Income Access – will allow us to generate a higher volume of organic traffic.

“We believe that our channel not only supports all affiliate marketing methods, but also complements them.”

Lorenzo Pellegrino, CEO of Skrill, Neteller and Income Access at Paysafe, added: “By launching an Income Access-powered affiliate program soon after the brand, Bet On Aces is in a strong position to achieve sustainable long-term growth.

“When also combined with our affiliate management and network, our platform will maximise affiliate programme growth.”

COMMENT: As Bet On Aces continues to establish itself, linking up with one of gaming’s biggest and most progressive affiliate programs via Income Access, can only strengthen the casino brand’s hand.

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On April 27, the two companies issued a joint statement confirming the deal. Media reports suggest the takeover may be worth more than €2bn as Blackstone saw off competition from rival bidder Apollo Global Management, although no Apollo offer was publicly confirmed.

The deal sees Blackstone acquire Cirsa’s casino, bingo and sports betting operations in Spain, Italy and most of Latin America.

The Cirsa estate includes nearly 150 casinos and more than 75,000 gaming machines.

However, the business in Argentina will continue to exist as a separate entity, overseen by Cirsa founder Manuel Lao Hernandez.

Hernandez will step down as chairman of Cirsa, with Joaquim Agut, who has been chief executive since 2006, taking on the role.

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The Booming Games content goes live with Italian operators in the second quarter, including popular titles Booming Seven Deluxe, Booming Bananas, Wild Jester and the Neon series.

Future releases will also be compliant with the requirements of the Italian regulated market with the total Booming portfolio in the country expected to consist of 40 slots by the end of 2018.

Frederik Niehusen, chief commercial officer at Booming Games, said: “Italy is one of the fastest growing markets and we believe that entering this market was our next step after completing certification for Isle of Man and after taking into consideration feedback received by our customers.

“We are not going to stop here as we are going soon to announce a new market entry in the next weeks. It is our aim to offer our games in as many regulated markets as possible,” said Niehusen.

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