Blog Posted on 21/06/2022 | Author: Karen Macarthur
An Exclusive Take on UKGC Regulations
Among those regulators, all aspects of the political spectrum criticize the UKGC (UK Gambling Commission). It doesn’t matter who you talk to, whether it’s doing enough or too many.
In the past few years, the UKGC Regulations has been more involved in online gambling regulation, especially in the online casino industry.
The majority of the UK’s gambling laws stem from the Gambling Act. Though some argue that the law did not grasp the potential of the internet, the UK is far ahead of other countries with a lot of gambling bills ensconced in the parliament.
Ireland, for instance, is working on updating its laws to be more suited to the current technology, with the majority of the laws passed before the advent of color television.
After a few years of being accused of ineffectiveness, the UKGC has begun to take shape in the past couple of years. And some of its actions have proved fascinating, to not the least.
Certain rules have been generally accepted. The prohibition of credit cards for funding casino and betting accounts, for example, was thought to be a sensible decision.
What is the UKGC? A Brief History
The UKGC – also known as The Gambling Commission – is an executive public body that is not a department that is part of the Government of the United Kingdom.
They are responsible for controlling gambling in the UK, and their mandate includes a range of different areas, including gambling arcades, gaming betting casinos, online bingo slot machines, lotteries, and more. They also regulate remote gambling, but they do not cover spread betting.
The Gambling Commission was established in 2007 to replace the former Gambling Board for Great Britain. They are responsible for granting licenses to gambling operators and for enforcing any operator who violates the conditions of their license.
The UKGC Regulations is well-known for its most aggressive approach to regulating gambling. The new regulations implemented in the past few years have sparked controversy.
Some are supportive, while others aren’t. Many “in the know” players believe it is the UKGC that is focusing on the wrong issues and at the wrong times.
However, they provide the most secure gambling environment for gamblers. Compare them with other gambling regulators on the internet, such as those of the Government of Curacao, and they’re a million miles away. What are the most important rules that the UKGC imposes on licensees? Let’s look.
Pre-Verification Checks
As of February 19, the online gambling companies had 72 hours to wait for the moment a player signed for verification of their identity.
Although this allowed players to start playing casino games straight away, some players were shut off their gambling accounts following the 72-hour time limit if they had not yet completed verifying checks.
Some players also complain that they are requested to present confirmation documents to make withdrawals, but they were able to make deposits whatever amount they wanted at the time of this.
The UKGC declared, “In March 2018, the Commission revealed that certain operators on the internet were treating customers unfairly, asking for additional identification information whenever a person attempted to take money out of earnings.
About 15% of complaints received by its contact center concerned licensees who refused to permit a player to withdraw money until they had submitted certain ID forms.”
The UKGC Regulations claim that the verification checks before signing up will help keep gambling under the age of 18 and remove the issue of customers only needing identification when they withdraw.
As we’ve observed in various Gambling Commission guidelines, some sites do not carry verification checks on the creation of accounts.
The biggest complaint against this UKGC Regulations is that players want to be able to sign up for a gambling site and start playing straight away. This is a valid point, and maybe the UKGC could have considered alternatives. The situation isn’t likely to change any time quickly, however.
Feature/Bonus Buy
In the first week of October, The UKGC Regulations started sending out messages to gambling websites soliciting them to remove features like “bonus buy” features present in a variety of popular online slots.
Bonus/feature buy games became more popular and allowed players to bet an amount to trigger the primary bonus feature in a slot. The typical cost for buying a feature was about 100X stake. (So, in this case, purchasing features on a PS2 stake would cost in the range of PS200.)
Many players favored feature buys since they were able to skip the lengthy play-time that is often needed to trigger a feature naturally.
But things began to become a little hazy when game makers began to let players play the feature before when it started, which means that players could purchase features, play, get spins or bonuses.
Some think that feature buys could be allowed with a minimum stake, but this is just speculation at the moment. It’s also a choice that has caused further division among players.
Conclusion
The UKGC frequently splits opinions. Their future decisions may make little difference to the situation.
A report released just a few days ago by members of the British Government suggests that the minimum stake amount of PS2 applies to any online game. (This follows a similar rule implemented on Fixed-Odds-Betting-Terminals (FOBTs) in bookmakers last year.
Although the motive of the proposed UKGC Regulations may be legitimate, it’s devastating to high-stakes players and the gambling industry on the internet in general. If an individual can afford or wishes to, why should he not be able to place PS5 bets on slots?
There’s been talk about the possibility that the UKGC is looking at “investment” games , where the complete RTP will not be realized, given that there will be some ‘left in the machine. Although no one has (yet) publicly discussed this, some feel like it’s on UKGC’s agenda.
