In the United Kingdom and the influential Betting and Gaming Council lobby group has called on the government to establish a gambling ombudsman so as to make it easier for land-based and online players to raise concerns and file complaints.
The London-headquartered organization represents approximately 90% of British gaming, sportsbetting, casino and bingo operators including behemoths such as William Hill, Entain and Flutter Entertainment and used an official Sunday press release to detail that its call comes as the government is conducting a wide-ranging review into the current state of the British gambling market.
Boss’ bid:
Michael Dugher (pictured) serves as the Chief Executive for the Betting and Gaming Council and he declared that the request is further evidence of ‘the regulated industry’s determination to drive up standards’. The former Labour politician also proclaimed that systems are already in place to handle customer complaints but that bringing in one supreme authority ‘would improve the process’ while simultaneously making it ‘more consistent for those raising concerns.’
Read a statement from Dugher…
“We hope that the government will look favourably on our calls for a gambling ombudsman to be established as soon as possible following the conclusion of the gambling review, which we strongly support. The Betting and Gaming Council and its members recognize the need for further change in our industry and a new gambling ombudsman would be a step forward in customer redress and I’m proud to be giving it our backing.”
Protracted process:
The Betting and Gaming Council explained that the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to release a ‘white paper’ later in the year laying out the ways in which it would like to alter the Gambling Act of 2005, which currently governs the nation’s licensed land-based and online gambling markets. It asserted that this advice could later lead to the launch of draft legislation that may well seek to implement numerous changes covering a whole host of areas from player protection measures and marketing protocols to promotional activities and the role of the Gambling Commission regulator.
Prominent pledge:
Conor Grant serves as United Kingdom and Ireland Chief Executive for London-listed Flutter Entertainment and he joined the Gambling and Betting Council in calling for the establishment of a single gambling ombudsman to guarantee ‘increasingly robust safer gambling practices’. He pronounced that his firm operates a slew of iGaming domains including Betfair.com, SkyBet.com, PaddyPower.com and PokerStars.com and is committed to placing customer focus ‘at the heart of our business.’
Grant’s statement read…
“And true commitment to putting customers first also means making sure that they have somewhere independent to go if something does go amiss. This is why Flutter Entertainment is fully behind the call from the Betting and Gaming Council for the government to include an ombudsman in its plans for reform of the gambling industry.”