Report evidence summary
Stated actions An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised. 38
Gambling Commission Allocate regulatory settlement funding to the Gambling-Related Suicide Research Programme.
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Gambling Commission Publish information from regulatory casework to share lessons learned and inform good practice across the gambling industry.
View source
Gambling Commission Challenge the online gambling industry to develop a cross-operator Single Customer View of customers’ gambling-harm risk.
View source
Gambling Commission Publish and maintain a consolidated Vulnerability Statement explaining the approach to identifying, supporting and protecting vulnerable consumers.
View source
Gambling Commission Support multi-operator self-exclusion scheme owners in considering improvements to scheme accessibility and customer identification.
View source
Gambling Commission Consult on measures addressing financial vulnerability, unaffordable gambling, direct-marketing choice, premises age verification and remote game design.
View source
Gambling Commission Continue working with Government and partners to expand evidence on gambling harms and suicide and inform prevention, education and intervention strategies.
View source
Gambling Commission Consult on requiring licensees to report customer deaths by suicide and extend multi-operator self-exclusion to additional betting licensees.
View source
Gambling Commission Develop and operate the Gambling Survey for Great Britain to collect annual data on gambling harms, including suicidal thoughts and attempts.
View source
Gambling Commission Continue assessing insights and evidence concerning consumer vulnerability to inform possible changes to the regulatory approach.
View source
Gambling Commission Publish findings from the first quarter of Gambling Survey for Great Britain fieldwork.
View source
Gambling Commission Continue improving and refining licensing requirements, remote technical standards and associated guidance using regulatory evidence and research.
View source
Gambling Commission Introduce and maintain stronger requirements requiring remote operators to identify, interact with and act on risks of gambling harm.
View source
Gambling Commission Conduct a further winter consultation on player-centric controls, deposit limits and responsible inducements or bonus offers.
View source
Gambling Commission Publish customer-interaction guidance supporting operators to identify vulnerability and gambling harm, take early action and escalate suicide risk.
View source
Gambling Commission Assess through compliance activity whether strengthened identification and intervention requirements improve outcomes and reduce harm.
View source
Gambling Commission Work with the Samaritans to raise understanding of gambling-related suicide risk and embed identification and support practices among operators and support agencies.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Continue strengthening and improving Player Protection Tools and actively encourage customers to use them.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Use credit-reference-agency checks at defined spending thresholds to identify financial vulnerability and apply mandatory net-deposit limits.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Engage with the Government, Gambling Commission, experts and industry participants on regulatory and customer-safety improvements.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Maintain the highest GamCare safer-gambling accreditation for UK-facing brands.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Participate in GamProtect to share information about highest-risk customers across major operators.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Review observed betting patterns, including the sawtooth pattern, to inform future safer-gambling model and control changes.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Apply mandatory monthly net-deposit limits of up to £500 to customers under 25.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Strengthen the time-spent-on-site control to identify repeated moderate-duration use and escalate triggered cases for human review.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Impose a £10 stake limit on online slots games.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Update the predictive safer-gambling model with additional risk factors and greater weighting for customers returning from self-exclusion.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Analyse reported betting behaviours and deposit-limit changes to assess their suitability for future control-framework iterations.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Apply mandatory monthly net-deposit limits to customers returning from self-exclusion.
View source
Flutter UK & Ireland Operate a dedicated Customer Safety Tribe of over 300 colleagues to advance safer-gambling controls.
View source
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Tighten gambling advertising and marketing rules, including controls on harmful bonus practices.
View source
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Strengthen customer-controlled gambling transaction blocks, including expanding coverage to non-card payment methods.
View source
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Develop and introduce a maximum stake limit for online slots games.
View source
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Develop a cross-operator harm-prevention system requiring participation and data sharing.
View source
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Create operator obligations to assess whether customers’ gambling is harmful in the context of their financial circumstances.
View source
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Work with health and behavioural science experts to develop independent messaging about gambling risks.
View source
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Publish a white paper outlining new gambling protections to safeguard customers.
View source
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Introduce rules requiring online games to be safer by design.
View source
× Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Reliance on industry regulatory standards rather than current good or best practice for gambling-customer protection
Wider context from the report “3) I remain concerned that, as was apparent through the evidence of a senior employee witness during the course of the inquest, the operator Betfair appears to judge the extent of its responsibilities to gambling customers solely with regard to industry (regulatory) standards, rather than current good or best practice in order to prevent further harming problem gamblers, or those who, as a result of their changing practices and patterns are likely to become problem gamblers.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure of the gambling-monitoring algorithm to flag problem gamblers
Wider context from the report “2) I remain concerned that the algorithm devised and operated by Betfair, to assist its staff in, amongst other things, observing and monitoring the gambling patterns and practices of its customers, failed to flag up Mr. Ashton as a problem gambler , despite the increases in his time online (gambling) the value of his deposits and the size of his losses, in part because his gambling practices, even in the last 10-12 weeks of his life, were deemed not to be exceptional, when averaged among gambling customers, generally.
” Is this part of a recurring concern? No recurring-concern membership is currently published.
Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Inadequacy of player protection tools to provide meaningful interaction or intervention for worsening problem gamblers
Wider context from the report “1) I remain concerned that the player protection tools, as mentioned above, were and are inadequate to protect a person such as Mr. Ashton, who was a problem gambler with a worsening problem , specifically that such tools do not amount to any or any meaningful interaction with the gambler, or any intervention into the practices of the gambler .
” Is this part of a recurring concern? No recurring-concern membership is currently published.
Open source report
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Allocate regulatory settlement funding to the Gambling-Related Suicide Research Programme.
Verbatim wording from the response “81. The Gambling Commission has allocated regulatory settlement funding to support the Gambling-Related Suicide Research Programme, led by ████████. The primary objective of this programme is to finance research within the UK aimed at providing insight into associations between gambling and suicide. The research funded through this scheme will aim to enhance the effectiveness of regulatory measures, harm reduction strategies, prevention efforts, and postvention interventions, ultimately leading to a reduction in the number of gambling-related suicides in the UK.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Publish information from regulatory casework to share lessons learned and inform good practice across the gambling industry.
Verbatim wording from the response “73. The Commission hopes that the Coroner can therefore be assured that, as the regulator of gambling in the Great Britain, the Commission expects operators to comply with both the letter and the spirit of their licences and the regulations and requirements surrounding them. The Commission continues to improve and refine the regulatory framework of requirements, including LCCP requirements and remote technical standards. We also review and update associated guidance to support the sharing of good practice, as well as publishing information following regulatory casework to share lessons learned and further inform good practice across the industry.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Challenge the online gambling industry to develop a cross-operator Single Customer View of customers’ gambling-harm risk.
Verbatim wording from the response “86. In February 2020 the Commission challenged the online gambling industry, represented by the industry trade association, Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), to develop a ‘Single Customer View’ (SCV) solution which could enable a holistic view of a customer’s risk of harm from online gambling behaviour to help reduce gambling harms.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Publish and maintain a consolidated Vulnerability Statement explaining the approach to identifying, supporting and protecting vulnerable consumers.
Verbatim wording from the response “12. In July 2023 the Commission published a Vulnerability Statement setting out our approach to identifying, supporting and protecting consumers who are in vulnerable situations⁷. It brings together information from existing Commission policy and guidance documents to help provide consolidated information about how we take account of customer vulnerability in our work. It is intended to help gambling businesses, gambling consumers, the general public and other regulators and organisations understand our approach and expectations. It references the Commission’s explanation of what we mean when we discuss vulnerability, provides information about our approach to building understanding of factors which may make a consumer more vulnerable to gambling harm and explains how we set requirements for gambling businesses to support, identify and protect vulnerable consumers.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Support multi-operator self-exclusion scheme owners in considering improvements to scheme accessibility and customer identification.
Verbatim wording from the response “33. In addition, we are supporting the owners of multi-operator self-exclusion schemes to consider how they can improve the effectiveness of their schemes, from making it straightforward to request self-exclusion from the multiple sectors to considering how best to improve identification.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Consult on measures addressing financial vulnerability, unaffordable gambling, direct-marketing choice, premises age verification and remote game design.
Verbatim wording from the response “35. As part of this programme of work connected with the Gambling Act Review, the Commission is also seeking to consult on a significant package of measures to strengthen player protection in the context of online gambling (to include identification of financially vulnerable customers and to tackle significant unaffordable binges and significant unaffordable gambling losses over time, alongside increased protections for young adults) and restrictions on bonus offers.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Continue working with Government and partners to expand evidence on gambling harms and suicide and inform prevention, education and intervention strategies.
Verbatim wording from the response “83. The Commission is working with partners to understand and measure harms, working to continually expand the existing evidence base and to ensure that we are best placed to take effective evidence-based decision-making. This is because a deeper understanding of gambling harms for adults and children and young people will help to target prevention and education initiatives where they will have most impact.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Consult on requiring licensees to report customer deaths by suicide and extend multi-operator self-exclusion to additional betting licensees.
Verbatim wording from the response “32. On 28 February 2023 the Commission commenced a consultation on proposed changes to certain requirements on gambling businesses aimed at improving player protection¹⁹. These are:” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Develop and operate the Gambling Survey for Great Britain to collect annual data on gambling harms, including suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Verbatim wording from the response “80. The Gambling Commission has conducted a major project to improve the way in which data on gambling participation and problem gambling is collected. The project enabled the” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Continue assessing insights and evidence concerning consumer vulnerability to inform possible changes to the regulatory approach.
Verbatim wording from the response “We will continue to assess the insights and evidence concerning consumer vulnerability and may make changes to our approach over time. Further information can be found here: What do we mean by vulnerability? (gamblingcommission.gov.uk).” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Publish findings from the first quarter of Gambling Survey for Great Britain fieldwork.
Verbatim wording from the response “development of a comprehensive push-to-web survey (i.e., ‘Gambling Survey for Great Britain’) which includes questions on harms caused by one’s own gambling and other people’s gambling. The survey also includes questions on suicidal thoughts and attempts, and the extent to which suicidal ideation was caused by gambling. Responses will be collected from 20,000 respondents aged 18 and over per annum, and The Gambling Commission intends to publish findings from the first quarter of fieldwork in Spring 2024.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Continue improving and refining licensing requirements, remote technical standards and associated guidance using regulatory evidence and research.
Verbatim wording from the response “71. The Commission can, however, confirm that the framework of gambling regulation is designed to be outcomes focussed. While there are prescriptive requirements within the LCCP, it isn’t possible to regulate for every individual circumstance. That is why operators are expected to conduct their gambling operations in a way that does not put the licensing objectives at risk and the Commission will hold an operator’s senior operational staff and directors accountable for regulatory compliance and the protection of the licensing objectives (see paragraph 3.12 and 4.1 of the Commission’s Statement of Principles). Further, the Commission expects licence holders to, amongst other things ‘…comply with both the letter and spirit of their licence and associated Commission regulations…’” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Introduce and maintain stronger requirements requiring remote operators to identify, interact with and act on risks of gambling harm.
Verbatim wording from the response “46. In November 2020 the Commission consulted26 on the introduction of stronger LCCP requirements to help ensure remote gambling operators do more to identify consumers who may be harmed by gambling and to interact and take action sufficiently early and effectively to prevent harm. Following consultation, in September 2022 we introduced the majority of strengthened customer interaction requirements for remote operators. The applicable provision became SR Code 3.4.3 and is set out below:” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Conduct a further winter consultation on player-centric controls, deposit limits and responsible inducements or bonus offers.
Verbatim wording from the response “38. The Commission is intending to continue this programme of work with a consultation this winter on proposals relating to the role of player-centric controls, in particular the role of” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Publish customer-interaction guidance supporting operators to identify vulnerability and gambling harm, take early action and escalate suicide risk.
Verbatim wording from the response “66. To support the strengthened requirements, we published associated guidance in August 2023[29], which will come into effect on 31 October 2023. The guidance repeats the individual requirements in LCCP and for each one:” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Assess through compliance activity whether strengthened identification and intervention requirements improve outcomes and reduce harm.
Verbatim wording from the response “64. In order to strengthen the requirements on licensees in relation to identifying customers at risk of harm, the Commission has introduced additional requirements directed at this issue and is consulting on further changes to contribute to improved and more effective customer interaction processes, which includes algorithms.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Work with the Samaritans to raise understanding of gambling-related suicide risk and embed identification and support practices among operators and support agencies.
Verbatim wording from the response “b. The Commission and the Samaritans working together on a programme of activity to raise understanding of the risks of suicide amongst gamblers and to further embed practices by operators, families and support agencies to identify those who may be at risk of suicide and provide support. In April 2021, this resulted in the publication of Industry guidelines for reducing the risk of gambling related suicide by the Samaritans, alongside a training course being available.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Continue strengthening and improving Player Protection Tools and actively encourage customers to use them.
Verbatim wording from the response “20. The use of Player Protection Tools is actively encouraged across Flutter’s entire customer base. The tools are widely promoted in our marketing campaigns (broadcast, display and digital) and on our social media channels. We strongly believe the use of Player Protection Tools is a positive behavioural indicator and that their use can help customers enhance awareness of their gambling activity and stay in control of their gambling. In fact, Flutter has a company-wide goal, linked to employee bonuses, to significantly increase the share of customers using Player Protection Tools. As of 31 July 2023, over 37% of Betfair’s customer base were using a Player Protection Tool, an increase from 21% of the customer base as of 31 July 2021.” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Use credit-reference-agency checks at defined spending thresholds to identify financial vulnerability and apply mandatory net-deposit limits.
Verbatim wording from the response “b. implemented checks with a credit reference agency, at defined levels of spend, to identify where customers are potentially financially vulnerable (including in respect of bankruptcy, county court judgements or the use of short-term loans) – if a customer is found to be potentially financially vulnerable a mandatory net deposit limit is applied to their account;” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Engage with the Government, Gambling Commission, experts and industry participants on regulatory and customer-safety improvements.
Verbatim wording from the response “14. Further, you will be aware that the Government issued a white paper on gambling reform on 27 April 2023 – “High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age” (the “White Paper”). The White Paper includes significant changes to the regulatory environment in Great Britain, including the introduction of financial risk checks. We will be engaging with the Gambling Commission and the Government, which are both consulting on different aspects of the proposed changes.” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Maintain the highest GamCare safer-gambling accreditation for UK-facing brands.
Verbatim wording from the response “compliance with regulatory standards. For example, we are involved in the industry data sharing project, GamProtect, which is a pilot aimed at sharing details of some of the highest risk customers across major operators. All of our UK-facing brands – Betfair, Paddy Power, Sky Betting & Gaming, and tombola – are rated ‘Advanced level 3’, which is the highest level possible, by GamCare (the leading independent assessor of safer gambling standards).” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Participate in GamProtect to share information about highest-risk customers across major operators.
Verbatim wording from the response “compliance with regulatory standards. For example, we are involved in the industry data sharing project, GamProtect, which is a pilot aimed at sharing details of some of the highest risk customers across major operators. All of our UK-facing brands – Betfair, Paddy Power, Sky Betting & Gaming, and tombola – are rated ‘Advanced level 3’, which is the highest level possible, by GamCare (the leading independent assessor of safer gambling standards).” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Review observed betting patterns, including the sawtooth pattern, to inform future safer-gambling model and control changes.
Verbatim wording from the response “b. reviewed the patterns of play evident in Mr Ashton’s betting activity – such as the ‘sawtooth pattern’ identified by Professor Forrest – to incorporate learnings from this into future changes to our safer gambling models and controls.” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Apply mandatory monthly net-deposit limits of up to £500 to customers under 25.
Verbatim wording from the response “d. introduced a mandatory net deposit limit, of no more than £500 per month, for all customers under the age of 25; and” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Strengthen the time-spent-on-site control to identify repeated moderate-duration use and escalate triggered cases for human review.
Verbatim wording from the response “a. updated our “time spent on site” control so that as well as capturing customers who use our products for a significant period of time in any one day, we can identify and escalate cases where customers repeatedly use our products over a longer period; and” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Impose a £10 stake limit on online slots games.
Verbatim wording from the response “e. imposed a stake limit of £10 on all online slots games.” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Update the predictive safer-gambling model with additional risk factors and greater weighting for customers returning from self-exclusion.
Verbatim wording from the response “c. updated our predictive safer gambling model, which is based on the behaviours demonstrated by customers who later self-exclude, to include more factors (now totalling 370), including a greater weighting attributable to customers returning from self-exclusion;” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Analyse reported betting behaviours and deposit-limit changes to assess their suitability for future control-framework iterations.
Verbatim wording from the response “39. Our data science teams are currently analysing the behaviours outlined by ████████ in his report to assess whether any of these should be included in future iterations of our control framework (to the extent that they are not already included). By way of example, we have been looking at the “sawtooth” pattern of play and the deposit limit changes that were seen in Mr Ashton’s case to assess how they can be separated out from similar behaviour present in non-problem gamblers.” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Apply mandatory monthly net-deposit limits to customers returning from self-exclusion.
Verbatim wording from the response “a. introduced, in June 2021, a mandatory net deposit limit, of no more than £1,000 per month, for all customers returning from self-exclusion – anyone returning from a period of self-exclusion undergoes a safer gambling interaction and agrees an appropriate net deposit limit;” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Operate a dedicated Customer Safety Tribe of over 300 colleagues to advance safer-gambling controls.
Verbatim wording from the response “50. The safety of our customers is of utmost importance to us. It is a core part of the mission, strategy and values of Flutter, which are communicated to all employees on joining, and discussed and re-committed to on a regular basis in internal communications by our CEO and senior leadership teams. Our safer gambling strategy is something we have consciously challenged all our colleagues to live and breathe on a day to day basis, and is constantly driven forward by over 300 colleagues in our dedicated Customer Safety Tribe. We are committed to operating to the highest standards in the industry and to continuing to improve our safer gambling controls to protect our customers from gambling-related harm.” Source location Response from Flutter
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Tighten gambling advertising and marketing rules, including controls on harmful bonus practices.
Verbatim wording from the response “5. A number of the proposals in the white paper relate to the protection of online gamblers, and these are being introduced in addition to the specific changes outlined below in relation to your concerns. For example, we are creating new obligations on operators to conduct checks to understand if a customer’s gambling is likely to be harmful in the context of their financial circumstances, seeking to mandate participation in a cross-operator harm prevention system based on data sharing, bringing in new rules to make online games safer by design, and introducing a maximum stake limit for online slots games. We will also continue to tighten rules on advertising and marketing, tackling aggressive practices like using bonuses in ways which exacerbate harms, and working with health and behavioural science experts to develop independent messaging that raises awareness of the risks of gambling.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Strengthen customer-controlled gambling transaction blocks, including expanding coverage to non-card payment methods.
Verbatim wording from the response “8. As an additional protection, we will also continue work with the gambling and financial services sectors to make customer-controlled gambling transaction blocks as robust as possible, for instance by expanding them to cover non-card payment methods. Finally, the Gambling Commission’s new customer interaction requirements put a specific obligation on operators to consider a customer’s use of gambling management tools when assessing for signs of risk (outlined below). I am hopeful that these changes can and will address your concerns.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Develop and introduce a maximum stake limit for online slots games.
Verbatim wording from the response “5. A number of the proposals in the white paper relate to the protection of online gamblers, and these are being introduced in addition to the specific changes outlined below in relation to your concerns. For example, we are creating new obligations on operators to conduct checks to understand if a customer’s gambling is likely to be harmful in the context of their financial circumstances, seeking to mandate participation in a cross-operator harm prevention system based on data sharing, bringing in new rules to make online games safer by design, and introducing a maximum stake limit for online slots games. We will also continue to tighten rules on advertising and marketing, tackling aggressive practices like using bonuses in ways which exacerbate harms, and working with health and behavioural science experts to develop independent messaging that raises awareness of the risks of gambling.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Develop a cross-operator harm-prevention system requiring participation and data sharing.
Verbatim wording from the response “5. A number of the proposals in the white paper relate to the protection of online gamblers, and these are being introduced in addition to the specific changes outlined below in relation to your concerns. For example, we are creating new obligations on operators to conduct checks to understand if a customer’s gambling is likely to be harmful in the context of their financial circumstances, seeking to mandate participation in a cross-operator harm prevention system based on data sharing, bringing in new rules to make online games safer by design, and introducing a maximum stake limit for online slots games. We will also continue to tighten rules on advertising and marketing, tackling aggressive practices like using bonuses in ways which exacerbate harms, and working with health and behavioural science experts to develop independent messaging that raises awareness of the risks of gambling.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Create operator obligations to assess whether customers’ gambling is harmful in the context of their financial circumstances.
Verbatim wording from the response “5. A number of the proposals in the white paper relate to the protection of online gamblers, and these are being introduced in addition to the specific changes outlined below in relation to your concerns. For example, we are creating new obligations on operators to conduct checks to understand if a customer’s gambling is likely to be harmful in the context of their financial circumstances, seeking to mandate participation in a cross-operator harm prevention system based on data sharing, bringing in new rules to make online games safer by design, and introducing a maximum stake limit for online slots games. We will also continue to tighten rules on advertising and marketing, tackling aggressive practices like using bonuses in ways which exacerbate harms, and working with health and behavioural science experts to develop independent messaging that raises awareness of the risks of gambling.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Work with health and behavioural science experts to develop independent messaging about gambling risks.
Verbatim wording from the response “5. A number of the proposals in the white paper relate to the protection of online gamblers, and these are being introduced in addition to the specific changes outlined below in relation to your concerns. For example, we are creating new obligations on operators to conduct checks to understand if a customer’s gambling is likely to be harmful in the context of their financial circumstances, seeking to mandate participation in a cross-operator harm prevention system based on data sharing, bringing in new rules to make online games safer by design, and introducing a maximum stake limit for online slots games. We will also continue to tighten rules on advertising and marketing, tackling aggressive practices like using bonuses in ways which exacerbate harms, and working with health and behavioural science experts to develop independent messaging that raises awareness of the risks of gambling.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Publish a white paper outlining new gambling protections to safeguard customers.
Verbatim wording from the response “4. Ensuring that gambling happens safely is a top departmental priority. From December 2020 to April 2023 the government undertook a comprehensive Review of the Gambling Act 2005. The Review launched with a call for evidence which ran from December 2020 to March 2021 and received 16,000 submissions. Ministers and officials have supplemented this with hundreds of meetings with a wide range of stakeholders, including those bereaved by gambling related suicide. We are particularly grateful to those like Mr Ashton’s widow who have shared their personal experience with DCMS and highlighted priorities for change. We have assessed the best available evidence and in April we published a white paper outlining a comprehensive package of new protections to build on existing controls and help safeguard customers.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Open published response
×
Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Introduce rules requiring online games to be safer by design.
Verbatim wording from the response “5. A number of the proposals in the white paper relate to the protection of online gamblers, and these are being introduced in addition to the specific changes outlined below in relation to your concerns. For example, we are creating new obligations on operators to conduct checks to understand if a customer’s gambling is likely to be harmful in the context of their financial circumstances, seeking to mandate participation in a cross-operator harm prevention system based on data sharing, bringing in new rules to make online games safer by design, and introducing a maximum stake limit for online slots games. We will also continue to tighten rules on advertising and marketing, tackling aggressive practices like using bonuses in ways which exacerbate harms, and working with health and behavioural science experts to develop independent messaging that raises awareness of the risks of gambling.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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How this respondent position was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation No regulatory action was considered appropriate regarding the matters identified in the review of the individual case.
Verbatim wording from the response “55. The date of activity on Mr Ashton’s account was prior to the completion of the special measures process (during which Betfair implemented controls to remedy the concerns that had been identified by the Commission in December 2020) and our follow-up assessment in May 2021 which concluded that Betfair had made sufficient progress on their implementation of updated safer gambling controls. Having considered the information relating to Mr Ashton’s gambling activities and the actions of Betfair, in November 2021 the Commission decided that it would not be appropriate to take regulatory action in respect of the matters identified during the review of Mr Ashton’s case.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
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How this respondent position was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Betfair is primarily responsible for taking forward good or best practice, limiting the regulator’s ability to respond to this concern.
Verbatim wording from the response “70. While the Commission is committing to responding as fully as possible to the Coroner’s concerns, it appears that this concern relates primarily to Betfair and how Betfair itself takes forward good or best practice. As such, the Commission’s ability to respond is necessarily limited.” Source location Response from Gambling Commission
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How this respondent position was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Player Protection Tools are intended to help most customers control gambling and are distinct from risk-triggered safer gambling interactions.
Verbatim wording from the response “22. We note your concern that our Player Protection Tools are not adequate to protect “a problem gambler with a worsening problem” and that “such tools do not amount to any or any meaningful interaction with the gambler, or any intervention into the practice of the gambler”. Player Protection Tools are intended and designed to help customers control their gambling, which is the case for the vast majority of our customers who use these tools. They are, therefore, different from the interactions we carry out with customers.” Source location Response from Flutter
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How this respondent position was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Betting exchange customers should not be treated as higher risk based on the cited survey data.
Verbatim wording from the response “28. Notably, the 2018 Health Survey shows a problem gambling rate of 0.0% for people whose only form of online gambling was betting exchanges. The data shows¹¹ that it is only when betting exchange customers engage in multiple other forms of gambling, including spread betting, that a minority may then be classified as problem gamblers. We do not therefore believe it is reasonable to conclude that a betting exchange customer is higher risk based on the 2018 Health Survey. In the case of Mr Ashton, who had excluded from gaming products, almost the entirety of his betting activity on Betfair was on the betting exchange. Information on how Betfair’s betting exchange works is set out in the Appendix.” Source location Response from Flutter
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How this respondent position was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation There is no specific minimum or objectively measurable best-practice standard for gambling operators beyond principle- and outcome-based regulatory requirements.
Verbatim wording from the response “43. As a licensed operator, we are required to meet strict regulatory standards pursuant to our licence from the Gambling Commission. These regulatory standards, and in particular the social responsibility obligations contained in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (“LCCPs”), are principle-based and outcome-based expectations for the protection of individuals. Flutter Entertainment plc holds many gambling licences across the world and engages with over 40 regulators globally. Our consistent experience is that British gambling regulation is one of the most developed frameworks globally, with the Gambling Commission one of the global industry’s most widely-respected regulators.” Source location Response from Flutter
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How this respondent position was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation The regulatory framework is outcomes-based and requires operators to pursue licensing objectives, not merely comply with minimum standards.
Verbatim wording from the response “16. This concern is addressed to Betfair specifically, however in seeking to provide a full response I recognise the concern that other operators may similarly seek only to meet the minimum standards of regulation and legislation.” Source location Response from Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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