Chris Turner

A number of recent developments have created a thought-provoking debate within the UK gambling industry regarding the threat of the black market.

On the one hand, the Gambling Commission has joined campaigners and charities in arguing that the threat of black-market operators

has been exaggerated by UK operators

.

The Betting and Gaming Council, however,

has pushed even harder to emphasise the difference

between what it sees as safe, regulated operators and illegal companies.

A divisive issue,

Gambling Insider

decided to put the question to our readers on social media.

On LinkedIn, a majority of voters

voted in favour of the industry

.

When posed with the question

“Is the threat of black market betting legitimate or has it been exaggerated by the industry?”

out of 147 voters,

67%

ticked the

“It is legitimate”

option (99).

A total of 48 people ticked the box

“It is exaggerated by operators”

which constituted

33%

of LinkedIn voters.

On Twitter,

the results were slightly different

(although the total amount of votes was smaller).

Out of 40 votes, 22 voted in favour of the option suggesting the threat has been exaggerated (

55%

) and 18 voted that the threat is legitimate (

45%

).

These early results show opinion is split but that, overall, more of our readers side with the industry’s warnings against the black market.

The

UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has urged gambling firms operating in the UK to review their existing terms and conditions to ensure that they are treating their customers fairly.

Its announcement follows a joint research initiative between the UKGC and the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) into unfair terms and allegedly misleading practices by online gambling operators.

In its research, the CMA found that many online gambling operators could be breaking existing consumer protection law particularly in the terms and conditions relating to bonus promotions and instances where companies have restricted customer rights and ability to access their own money and winnings.

Concerns highlighted include: Restrictions on customers being able to withdraw their deposit balance and any winnings, a lack of definable separation between bonus balances and deposit balances and a lack of clarity on specific play restrictions on promotions which gives operators unfairly high discretion on awarding winnings.

Further concerns raised include a lack of transparency in terms and conditions, operators not honouring free bets awarded as a part of promotions and terms & conditions which assume that customers have consented to the use of any personal information (including their name) for promotional purposes for the benefit of the operator.

Announcing the action, UK Gambling Commission Executive Director Sarah Gardner, said: “It is of paramount importance that consumers are empowered to make informed choices about their gambling and that the information available about their rights is correct and clear to them.

“The CMA’s findings have indicated that currently there is an imbalance between gambling firms and consumers – too often weighted in the favour of the operator. The CMA has set out its concerns to the gambling industry – this sets out clearly the changes which online gambling operators need to make to ensure promotions and practices are compliant with consumer protection law.

“We have been making it clear to the industry that they need to get their house in order on this. The CMA has now set out clearly its concerns so there is no excuse for operators not to act urgently in the interests of consumers. We plan to step up action in the New Year to ensure that consumers are being treated fairly.”

The

top B2B gaming industry publication – the first of its kind to make it onto the iPad – has now expanded into the Android arena, bringing its fresh perspective on all the industry’s major talking points to the popular operating device.

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Whether you’re a software provider, payment processor, operator or affiliate, Gambling Insider has something to offer you. A bi-monthly publication reaching the gaming industry’s biggest hitters, the magazine provides a comprehensive review of developments across all sections of the gaming industry.

As its name suggests, Gambling Insider offers the inside track on the gambling market, as well as interviews with the field’s biggest movers and shakers and in-depth analysis from some of the sharpest minds in the business. The event-driven magazine can also be found at all of the industry’s top trade shows worldwide.

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