Gambling Commission

• The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today backed proposals for the financial sector to share data with gambling companies to protect customers from unaffordable losses.
• Stephen Almond, Executive Director of Regulatory Risk, added:
  “Data sharing can be a force for good, enabling organisations to protect people from gambling-related harm.
• About the ICO
  - The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection and information rights law, upholding information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
• - To report a concern to the ICO telephone call our helpline on 0303 123 1113, or go to ico.org.uk/concerns.

• New gambling rules are being proposed by the UK government for the first time since the invention of the smartphone.
• But these “reforms for the digital age” are silent on cryptocasinos, where you can bet online using cryptocurrencies.
• These platforms have seen remarkable and potentially dangerous developments since the government’s consultation for its reforms began in late 2020.
• The gambling games discussed were laughably simple, such as bets on virtual coin flips or dice rolls.

The risks

• First, cryptocurrencies carry inherent risks.
• It is also easy for crypto assets to disappear, such as via the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX in November 2022.
• It may be that people are more willing to gamble with crypto than with more tangible forms of money.
• This would be analagous to the fact that digital deposits at online casinos are thought to encourage gambling more than casino chips.
• They often obtain licences from the Caribbean island of Curaçao, which has a more lax approach than, for example, Great Britain’s Gambling Commission.

What would help

• The British regulatory approach is much too slow, insisting on evidence that researchers simply don’t have the tools to deliver.
• Gambling was liberalised at that time, but few realised that smartphones would soon give people access to a casino in their pocket.
• The truth is that cryptocasinos are too new, and their future evolution too uncertain, to know for sure how policymakers should respond.
• Philip has received travel and accommodation funding from Alberta Gambling Research Institute, and received open access fee funding from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario.

• LUCERNE, Switzerland, Sept. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As previously announced, in March 2022 the UK Gambling Commission selected Allwyn Entertainment Ltd, a subsidiary of Allwyn Entertainment AG ("Allwyn"), as its preferred applicant for the fourth license to operate the UK National Lottery.
• That ruling was appealed by Camelot UK Lotteries Limited (the incumbent operator of the UK National Lottery) and Camelot Global Lottery Solutions Limited (together, the "Camelot Entities" and the "Camelot Appeal") and International Game Technology plc, resulting in the suspension continuing.
• Today, Allwyn announced that the Camelot Entities have decided to withdraw the Camelot Appeal, and Allwyn Entertainment Ltd and Allwyn International A.S. have agreed to waive all claims for costs or damages against the Camelot Entities.
• Allwyn very much welcomes this decision and looks forward to cooperating with Camelot and the Gambling Commission on the transition process.

• The "Online Gambling Global Market Report 2022, By Game Type, Device, Component" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
• The online gambling market comprises of revenue generated by remote gaming activities by means of the internet using desktop and mobile devices.
• The main game types of online gambling are betting, casino, lottery, poker, online bingo and others.
• Increasing adoption of smartphones with improved internet accessibility is driving the online gambling market.