March 23, 2020

The Gambling Commission recently opened a consultation calling for views on proposed changes to the information licensees are required to report under the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), as well as adjustments to the datapoints that must be provided by operators in regulatory returns.

The proposals concerning the LCCP mainly relate to pool betting, reporting suspicion of offences, event reporting (including key events), and access to gambling by children and young persons. Significant changes proposed include:

• the removal of certain key reporting obligations such as: (i) in relation to relevant persons and positions, investments in a licensee which is not by way of a share subscription; (ii) outcomes of ADR disputes (although information may still be requested by the Commission) (iii) adverse court judgments (irrespective of jurisdiction); and (iv) outcomes of compliance assessment to the extent no material concerns are raised by the third-party authority.
• clarification (i) on group jurisdiction reporting requirements; and (ii) that the Commission unequivocally expects remote gambling website domains covered by white label arrangements to abide by the key reporting obligation concerning commencement or cessation of trading.
• enhanced reporting on information security incidents that, for example, affect the confidentiality of consumer data, prevent account access and calls into question the integrity of an operator’s security environment.
• expanding the scope of ‘other reportable events’ to include any events which could have a material impact on ‘the licensee’s ability to conduct licensed activities compliantly and consistently with the licensing objectives’, including any actual or potential breaches of the requirements imposed under Parts 7 and 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or Part III the Terrorism Act 2000.
• a new licence condition (15.2.3) requiring casino operators to report any actual or potential breaches of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on Player) Regulations 2017.

While the Commission proposes to reduce the total number of datapoints across regulatory returns by removing certain requirements (such as premise acquisition reporting), it is also seeking to introduce new datapoints on the prevention of gambling-related harms by requesting, for example, data on instances of detected self-exclusion breaches by operators.

The consultation is due to close on 20 May 2020.