Flutter does not expect “big bang” of regulatory changes from Gambling Act 2005 review
CEO Peter Jackson suggests the firm has pre-emptively implemented several layers of protection that are likely to be enforced after the government publishes its white paper
Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson believes changes implemented as part of the UK government’s Gambling Act 2005 review will not cause a regulatory “big bang” for UK-licensed operators.
Speaking during the firm’s Q3 analyst call, Jackson cited Flutter’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of any legislative changes by introducing pre-emptive safer gambling upgrades to its systems.
To date, this has included a monthly £500 net deposit cap for UK and Ireland customers under the age of 25 across its Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet brands as part of a wider triple-step affordability policy.
Players with provably higher income and consequential higher-level spend will be required to pass through a detailed checking process before an alternative limit can be set.
“We’re doing an awful lot, and I think that is important,” Jackson said.
“But we shouldn’t expect there to be a big bang from the set of changes introduced as part of the [UK] government’s white paper.
“There’s going to be a number of changes introduced by operators, there will be some regulatory interventions and there will be things that the Gambling Commission will encourage.
“I think it would be hard to imagine that the online market would experience any real growth in the UK in the face of all those interventions and changes which we expect to happen in the market,” he added.
While policies resulting from the review are unlikely to be introduced before 2022, Jackson highlighted the potential for a delay in the government’s publishing of the white paper, which has pledged to make “gambling fit for the digital age”.
“It’s obvious that the UK government has some very significant issues to wrestle with at the moment and actually a number of those issues rest with the DCMS,” Jackson explained.
“While I know that the publication of the white paper is important, it’s probably not their utmost priority at the moment.
“In the meantime, we have been very much focused on putting in place a number of actions to support our focus on safer gambling,” he added.