Betting And Gaming Council
On Thursday, the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) issued a 66-page report that attempts to quantify the state of ‘unlicensed online gambling in the UK.’ The report (viewable here) was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and builds on the findings of a similar report issued one year ago. British industry standards organisation the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has welcomed the Gaming Commission’s decision to introduce new rules for online slot games, saying this will help to improve player safety. Standards body the Betting and Gaming Council has unveiled a new code of conduct for the design of online games in a bid to improve player safety and tackle problem gambling. Measures include the slowing down of spin speeds, banning several gaming features which have caused concern and improved access to safer gambling information. Betting and Gaming Council From 10 July, it is mandatory to wear face coverings in shops in Scotland. There are exceptions for customers who have a disability or health condition that prevents them from.
Those who tend to place bets on a regular or even semi-regular basis will no doubt have a solid idea of who the United Kingdom Gambling Commission are and what it is that they do. Many will be less clued up on the Betting & Gaming Council, however, not least of all because it has only been around since 2019 and is therefore relatively young.
In a nutshell, the organisation is the single industry association that represents online gaming businesses, casinos and betting shops. Around 90% of betting companies fall under their jurisdiction and they attempt to champion industry standards to ensure a safer, fairer and more enjoyable betting experience for customers.
Formed By Combining Two Bodies
On the 1st of August 2005, the Association of Remote Gambling Operators and the Interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association decided to merge to create the Remote Gambling Association. Based in London and Brussels, the newly formed body was there to represent the interests of the online gambling industry in Europe.
The whole purpose of the RGA was to offer a single voice for the gambling industry when it came to things such as legislation and regulation. It was specifically about representing online companies so as not to step on the toes of the Association Of British Bookmakers. The ABB, as the name suggests, was the representative body for land-based bookies.
Around 85% of bookmakers were part of the ABB, whose aim was to ensure that integrity and safety were two of the main watchwords for the organisation. Obviously there was a degree of crossover between the two bodies, given that they were both looking after the best interests of the two main sides of the gambling industry.
As time passed, the ABB became less and less relevant. This was because very few bookmakers only operated in real life without any sort of online presence. As a result, the two organisations risked standing on each others’ toes when trying to fight against legislation and regulation. The RGA was the more powerful of the two thanks to the proliferation of online betting, but it wasn’t that simple.
It soon became an inescapable fact that the betting industry as a whole would be best represented by a unified body rather than two separate ones. The former Chair of the Association of British Bookmakers, Paul Darling, said that he hoped the creation of the Betting & Gaming Council would allow for the ‘sharing of best practices across the industry’.
The Aims Of The BGC
The betting industry employs more than 100,000 people and is worth in the region of £14 billion to the economy in the United Kingdom. It’s little surprise, therefore, that the industry as a whole feels that it needs an organisation that is there to ‘champion’ its causes. On top of that, the Betting & Gaming Council is also designed to ensure punters get the best experience possible.
Problem gambling will always be one of the chief issues facing the industry, so the BGC set that out as being one of the things that it wished to tackle upon its formation. By combining the effort of the various gambling firms it was hoped that the public’s trust in the industry would increase accordingly. In order to achieve that, the BGC set up a new ‘code of conduct’ for members.
The Industry Working Together
As soon as the Betting & Gaming Council was set up, those behind its launch confirmed their plans to work as closely as possible with the rest of the betting industry. One of the biggest parts of the industry is, of course, its regulatory body: the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. Immediately they set out their desire to create a nationwide approach to combat problem gambling.
A big part of the plan was to work closely with the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust as well as GamCare, the gambling support charity. With about 90% of the betting firms in the UK signed up to the organisation, the ‘enforceable commitments’ that it laid down were seen as a chance to bring the majority of the industry inline with the same aim of promoting the idea of safer gambling.
Whether it be anti-money laundering aims or the need to live up to the code of the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling, the Betting & Gaming Council was created to ensure a united voice in the gambling industry’s approach to getting things right. Working alongside financial services and advertising bodies is also a key part of the BGC’s approach.
Who Are The Betting and Gaming Council?
As debate heats up around gambling regulation In this article we profile the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) the voice of online slot site, casino and sportsbook operators in the UK.
The Betting Gaming Council (BGC) is an organisation that represents most of the online gambling businesses, high street bookmakers and casinos in the UK. Their aim is to set standards of safety and fairness and to represent the industry at a time when it faces heavy criticism from the media, MPs and addiction charities. With a new Gambling Act on the horizon in 2021 or 2022 the BGC looks to provide positive PR by highlighting efforts made to self-regulate alongside the rules imposed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
What Does the Betting and Gaming Council Do?
If you are following the news stories about the review of the Gambling Act then you may well have heard the BGC mentioned, or listened to their chairman, Brigid Simmonds, discussing what they do. But how does their role differ from that of the UK GC and does self-regulation actually work?
The UK GC is the official regulator of the industry. It was formed after the 2005 Gambling Act and it issues licenses to operators wishing to take bets from punters based in the UK. The Commission can issue funds and suspend the license of any business that breaches the terms. It also reviews and amends regulation where it sees fit. For example, they introduced a ban on credit card deposits in April 2020 and are currently examining the possibility of reducing the maximum stake on online slot games to £2.
The BGC is different because it is an industry body, not a government one, though their work does overlap with the Commission in many instances.
Outside of the rules upheld by the UKGC the Betting and Gaming Council has its own Code of Conduct, which is a standard that all members must adhere to and states similar aims to that of the Commission – essentially safe, fair and enjoyable gambling which is free from crime or exploitation. The code states obligations that include:
- Contribution of at least 0.1% of Gross Gaming Yield each year to support the National Responsible Gambling Strategy.
- Member must participate in industry self-exclusion scheme, GAMSTOP.
- Commitment to Digital Marketing code of Practice.
- Commitment to participate in Responsible Gambling Week.
- Implement new code of conduct to foster safe play in the 18 to 24-year-old group.
Steps taken by the BGC in 2020 to improve safety and tackle the risk of addiction include:
- New code or practice for VIP schemes include stricter affordability checks and monitoring of individual accounts.
- Requirement for 20% of all TV and Radio Ads to focus on Safer Gambling measures.
Does Self-Regulation Work?
Opponents to the gambling industry claim that self-regulation does not work and that tackling problem gambling is at odds with the business objectives of driving revenues from the most valued and loyal customers. Cynics argue that through the BGC the industry is only paying lip service to the critics and hoping to prevent much stricter regulation at a later date by showing that it can do the job itself. Often you will see that the BGC enshrines in its commitment regulation that the UK GC is already considering. For example, the new rules on VIP programs have been created as pressure from MPs to ban the schemes outright grows, and the requirements for more responsible gambling messaging in TV ads comes at a time when an outright ban on ads is on the table in the review of the Gambling Act.
Betting And Gaming Council
To some degree this is true – members of the BGC know that it is better to be setting the standards yourself from within the industry than having them imposed from outside. But whatever their motivation, the Council has made important progress in areas that are in need of reform to better protect the consumer. Whether this will be seen to be enough when the new Gambling Bill is debated in parliament, only time will tell. But we suspect that tougher rules than those the BGC has imposed are inevitable.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is currently carrying out its review of gambling legislation and will be publishing a white paper in the Spring or Summer. We will publish news of its findings when they become available.