UK Gambling Commission to Impose New Regulations on Bookmakers and Gambling Companies
Regulations exist to protect consumers that participate in an industry and to keep industries healthy by discouraging corrupt business practices that can keep the playing field from being as level as it should be. Regulation can sometimes be being viewed as a negative thing, but when regulatory policies are implemented effectively, they can end up creating benefits for the businesses that are compliant with them and encourage a business environment that elicits more engagement from consumers versus less engagement and more choice.
One well-known example where comprehensive and effective government oversight would have had a positive impact on the industry was the American financial services industry. The systematic and sustained weakening of government oversight of the financial services industry led to unhealthy business practices in the United States in the late aughts. Like many people, no doubt already know by now, a hyper-focus on driving profits led financial institutions to create and sell volatile financial products. The internal oversight functions of large corporations like the American International Group did not prove to be strong enough to prevent companies from making the sorts of business decisions that would not only compromise their economic stability but endanger the stability of economies and industries across the planet.
In the case of the American financial services industry, the lack of regulatory oversight led to an international economic crisis that nearly threatened to destabilize the world’s financial system. Given the importance that regulatory policies can play in promoting the health of industry, it is little wonder that the British government recently announced new policies to promote responsible betting. According to The Guardian Britain’s Gambling Commission announced in mid-January that it would be introducing more rigorous policies to discourage the practices of money laundering and problem gambling.
The Gambling Commission will reportedly increase the fines levied against casinos and digital gambling businesses that break the rules. Companies that violate the new rules that will be implemented by the Commission could find that their licenses will be put at risk. The Commission’s chief officer Sarah Harrison recently gave a speech before many of the leaders of Britain’s gambling industry in which she made gaming companies aware of the agency’s intent to crack down on businesses that were not complying with the rules. In the past Britain’s top gambling regulation agency had allowed businesses that had violated the agency’s rules to get out of trouble by reaching settlements. Under the new regulations, the agency will be less likely to allow firms to achieve compliance this way and more likely to call into question whether they should be doing business in the country at all.
Often gambling is an enjoyable leisure activity for those who can gamble responsibly. Unfortunately, some gamblers can develop addictions, and gambling companies that do not follow the rules can take advantage of this. The Guardian cited the case of a gaming company that could reach settlements after one of its customers become so engrossed with gambling that he became unemployed and was forced to give up his house and family. The new regulations are meant to prevent these sorts of situations and to encourage the industry at large to be more concerned with offering services that are not harmful to the consumers that are interested in using them.
