UK Gambling Commission Under Fire for Secret Deals with Gambling Companies
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is facing criticism in the United Kingdom for concealing the identities of gambling companies that have violated regulations. In exchange for this secrecy, the gambling companies have donated money to charities dedicated to combating gambling harm.
This week, The Observer revealed that the UKGC has kept the identities of 38 gambling companies that have been in violation secret over the past five years. Under this secret arrangement, gambling companies are not identified in exchange for payments to charities if the UKGC believes that the shortcomings pose no or limited risk of ongoing harm to players.
According to The Observer’s article, gambling companies could donate money to charities to avoid formal action from the regulator. This would involve all profits made through regulatory shortcomings.
In total, these dozens of gambling companies have donated approximately £2 million to charities since 2020, according to figures obtained by The Observer based on freedom of information requests. During this period, the total revenue for these gambling companies in the United Kingdom was around £15.6 billion until March 2024. This arrangement has led to criticism of the UK Gambling Commission, as it is seen as a ‘protective bubble’ for the gambling companies.
The UK Gambling Commission responded to The Observer’s disclosure as follows:
“Most regulators have a range of different interventions they can take, and also a threshold below which they do not routinely publish interventions they have taken. While research has shown that the regulator’s history does not inform consumers when choosing a gambling operator, the Gambling Commission has consistently continued to publish enforcement results and a register is available detailing these actions.”
Criticism
One of the gambling companies that used the special arrangement is bookmaker Betfair, owned by Flutter. They came under scrutiny when it emerged that they had failed to identify Luke Ashton as a problem gambler. Ashton committed suicide at the age of 40 in April 2021 due to his gambling addiction.
Only after an investigation in 2023 did the British regulator announce that Betfair fell under the special arrangement. Betfair donated £635,123 to charities that try to reduce gambling harm to avoid regulatory measures.
Don Foster, a Liberal Democrat colleague and chairman of Peers for Gambling Reform, believes it is completely wrong that these kinds of things happen behind closed doors. According to Foster, it does not help to protect gamblers.
Anne Ashton, Luke’s widow, also finds it unacceptable:
“The Gambling Commission is clearly more concerned about the reputation and growth of gambling companies than about protecting people from harm. By making so many of these secret deals, the reputation of companies is kept clean and no lessons are learned, even if the damage can be as catastrophic as a death. Special measures should not mean special protection. There must be full transparency about operators who do not meet the legal requirements.”
Ashton also spoke with Andrew Rhodes, chairman of the UKGC, after her husband’s death. In that conversation, she asked him why there was no investigation into the gambling company, after which Rhodes failed to tell her that the company fell under the special measures.
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