IBAS makes first move to become UK Gambling Ombudsman

The Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) has put itself forward to become the UK’s first Gambling Ombudsman ahead of the long-overdue release of the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review.

IBAS, which is funded by bookmakers, has become the first body to offer itself to perform the role, which has been hotly anticipated in the outcome of the review.

IBAS was founded in 1998 to resolve individual complaints with bookmakers and claims a new Ombudsman must hit the ground running and not be “learning on the job”.

The service deals with more than 80% of UK gambling complaints, with many from overseas, and has handled more than 85,000 disputes to date. A total of £480,000 was returned to customers in 2020.

The organisation said the launch of a new body to take up the mantle of a gambling Ombudsman would be “more costly, take longer to establish and the organisation would lack the necessary expertise”.

IBAS is an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which is already approved by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) as the regulator requires gambling operators to offer a free adjudication service to customers.

In a white paper outlining its proposals as the new Ombudsman, IBAS said it anticipated a first-year budget of £3.5m to be derived from a levy against the industry.

Of this £3.5m, about £3m would be required for staff costs and the remainder to cover all other functions. IBAS also noted an additional £1m injection in the first year to support the transition process.

IBAS revealed that in the first year it expected to receive approximately 7,500 complaints.

Of these, 5,000 would be resolved, some 2,000 would need to be referred to businesses to complete their internal complaints systems and around 500 requests would fall outside of the IBAS’ remit. An average resolved case fee of £400 would be charged.

The body also noted it anticipated to receive a further 10,000 requests for advice or support from customers and businesses that do not progress to a dispute.

IBAS said it envisioned a working relationship with the UKGC, with the body putting its “knowledge and experience at the disposal of the Gambling Commission” in a “two-way process”.

IBAS said as Ombudsman, it would provide a free and easy-to-use serves to settle complaints between consumers and businesses and would resolve these complaints “fairly and impartially, with the power to put things right”.

IBAS MD Richard Hayler, former director of policy and general secretary at the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, said the foundations laid by the IBAS put it in the best position to assume the role of the Ombudsman.

Hayler added: “I welcome the creation of a new Ombudsman, but for this to work it needs to be run by an organisation that understands the sector and has a track record of helping and protecting consumers.

“An Ombudsman with additional resources, built on the foundations of IBAS is best placed to hit the ground running, protecting consumers, and raising industry standards through fair, consistent decision making and constructive dispute avoidance feedback.”