Are New Responsible Measures from Operators Working?

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has made it very clear in recent months and years that the protection of vulnerable gamblers is of the highest priority, and those deemed to be falling short of expectation can and will be punished severely.

Two operators who recently fell foul of the UKGC’s ethical expectations were LeoVegas and SkyBet, both companies have since unveiled new responsible gambling measures to attempt to avoid further punishment from the Commission.

But are these measures effective? Or are they just a token gesture to escape the watchful gaze of the UKGC?

SkyBet

After picking up a £1 million fine in March (2018) due to a failure to protect vulnerable gamblers who had opted for self-exclusion, Sky Betting and Gaming unveiled their new responsible gambling campaign, which is provided by EPIC Risk Management and will cover all English Football League (EFL) clubs over the next season.

Focusing on raising awareness of gambling related harm across 72 EFL clubs, the campaign follows SkyBet’s CEO, Richard Flint, saying he supported tighter regulation on the industry.

LeoVegas

In May 2018, LeoVegas suffered the wrath of the UKGC to the tune of £600,000 after violating the rules of gambling advertising, including misleading adverts, as well as a failure to support customers who had self-excluded to an extent considered sufficient by the Commission.

LeoVegas announced in the wake of the fine that they were signing up to GAMSTOP, a service designed to allow players to exclude from all UK casinos at once.

With SkyBet’s new campaign yet to prove itself, and GAMSTOP also catching the UKGC’s attention due to not fulfilling expectations when it comes to self-exclusion, whether the efforts of these two operators to improve will prove successful remains to be seen.