UKGC to Focus on Illegal Gambling in 2021-24

Posted on: Apr 06, 2021. Last Updated on: Apr 06, 2021.

Author: Joseph Skelker Expertise: Online casinos, Game tester

UKGC has announced its corporate strategy for the next three years

According to the Commission, the new strategy will be delivered through five main priority areas: protecting children and the vulnerable from gambling-related harm, creating a fairer market with more information for players, keep gambling crime free, optimizing charitable donations from the National Lottery and improving gambling regulation.

UKGC has five main priority areas for the next three years

Today we have launched our three-year Corporate Strategy which sets out our focus and commitment to making gambling safer and continuing to protect the public and players from harm. You can read the new strategy here: https://t.co/aV56PPCYGy pic.twitter.com/BGl9ECybx5
— Gambling Commission (@GamRegGB) April 1, 2021

The new three-year strategy shares much with the last one, which was published for 2018-21. It contained priorities such as protecting consumer interest, safeguarding the public from gambling harm, improving standards in the industry, optimizing charitable returns, and improving the Commission’s regulations.

The main differences seem to be greater emphasis on reducing illegal gambling and better protections for children and vulnerable people. There were also a number of changes made to the business plan as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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The UKGC publishes a business plan each year with its ambitions for the coming months. This year’s states that producing a high quality, effective competition for the next National Lottery license while ensuring the current performance of the existing license is maintained is a key focus.

In addition, it said that checking operators’ compliance with enhanced player protection measures will be a key part of its work in the coming year and that it will be focusing on the future with the review of the Gambling Act.

Commenting on its response to the pandemic, the UKGC’s business plan said that the guidelines given to the industry, such as the implementation of tougher affordability checks, the banning of reverse withdrawals, and restrictions on bonus offers, have all been justified by the covid-19 related data is has collected since producing them.

The Commission has forecast that 34% of its income will come from the betting sector over the next 12 months, while 26% will come from casino, 12% from software, 8% from machines, 8% from lotteries, 8% from arcades, and 4% from bingo.

The vast majority of the year’s costs, 73% will be staff expenditure, while the rest will include IT, professional fees, office and administrative, research, recruitment and training.