UK MPs rail against gambling regulator “gone rogue” in damning report

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has been labelled a regulator “gone rogue”, according to a damning new report from the Parliamentary All-Party Betting and Gaming Group (APBGG)

Delivering its findings from an investigation into the effectiveness and competence of the UK gambling watchdog in a 178-page report, APBGG chairman and MP Scott Benton slammed the body, suggesting it had received evidence the UKGC had been a failed regulator “for a number of years now”.

“It is our opinion that the commission has gone rogue and no longer acts in a way that any legitimate regulated industry deserves,” Benton wrote in his pre-amble to the report.

“We have evidence of the commission going against the very premise of the Gambling Act, against its own stated principles and has breached practically every element of the Regulators’ Code, that it is obligated by law to abide by, even though it seems to think itself exempt.

“To add insult to injury, the very basic tasks of licensing and regulatory enforcement appear to be beyond its capability to undertake in a fair, effective and timely manner,” Benton added.

Citing anonymous data from UK-licensed operators, Benton asserted that there was a “palpable fear” of the UKGC among operators, suggesting a lack of trust and concern that firms would not receive a fair hearing from the regulator if they appealed against a censure levied.

As justification, Benton highlighted evidence which suggested that just one operator per year complains through initial channels to the UKGC.

In addition, the Conservative MP for Blackpool South referenced a 2020 survey on the industry, in which 79.45% of respondents claimed they did not believe the UKGC would act in a “fair proportionate and open way” in regulating the industry.

Benton, analogising the UKGC’s role to being put in charge of regulating motor vehicles, suggested: “They would all [operators] be limited to driving at 5mph, have to have all their airbags permanently inflated, every driver would need to take an enormously expensive driving test every year based on vague guidance on the rules of the road.

“With only those whose interpretation of the guidance matched the interpretation of the car-hating driving instructor passing and that the licence would take two years to arrive,” Benton added.

In its report, the APBGG asserted its belief that the UKGC is on an “ideological mission” which would ultimately lead to the expansion of the UK’s gambling black market and that the regulator is acting beyond its authority.

The report cites multiple instances of the UKGC breaching the UK’s Regulatory Code (2014), which governs the conduct of regulatory entities, as well as several examples of the regulator being “less than competent”.

These include “incredibly lengthy” timescales for application processing and responses to queries raised, AML assessments being confused with social responsibility regulations as well as implementation of arbitrary fines against operators.

The APBGG has claimed the UKGC ignores communications from operators, misunderstands gambling technology and regulations as well as providing “scant evidence” to justify regulatory penalties against operators following high-profile investigations into operators.

In addition, the UKGC is labelled as having a “bullying attitude” that has caused mental harm among operator personnel including seeing them leaving the industry.

UKGC inspectors also “stated their hate” for the industry as well as engaging in persistent negative commentary about the sector, according to the report.

“Our conclusion is that upon reading the submitted evidence means one can only really reach one conclusion and that is that the Gambling Commission has failed in practically every aspect of being a regulator,” the APBGG wrote.

As a remedy for the failings at the UKGC, the APBGG has made six recommendations, including that the DCMS examines the role of the regulator in preventing problem gambling, something which was not expressly covered under the Gambling Act 2005.

If there is a case for reviewing this role, the report calls for government intervention in reassigning this problem gambling imperative, as well as a full audit of the regulator’s practices in this area.

Other recommendations include an independent review of the UKGC’s enforcement practices, potential amendment of the Gambling Act 2005 to include problem gambler differentiation as well as the DCMS taking temporary charge of the complaints process from the UKGC.

Lastly, the report calls for the UKGC to be put on “special measures” to see if it is able to change its culture and strategic direction.

The UKGC has not responded to the report after being contacted by EGR.