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UKGC: Information for operators re-opening land-based gambling premises

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UKGC: Information for operators re-opening land-based gambling premises
UKGC: Information for operators re-opening land-based gambling premisesReading Time: 4 minutes

 

As restrictions on the lockdown ease the UKGC has published a number of frequently asked questions covering its expectations from land-based operators.

These FAQs are aimed at helping operators manage compliance with Government guidance on reopening with continued compliance with the Licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP).

The Commission is also reminding operators they are still expected to continue to follow Customer Interaction guidance as doors are reopened to consumers.

Frequently asked questions

Which premises can open from 15 June?

Just betting offices in England are able to open from 15 June.

 

Do Operators still have to meet all the Gambling Act and LCCP requirements?

Yes, there are no changes to operators’ obligations. We therefore expect operators to have confidence in their ability to be fully compliant with our requirements when they reopen. Where we find evidence of non-compliance, we will take swift action.  

 

Will the Commission undertake premises-based assessments?

The Commission’s approach will support the following Government objectives as set out in guidance:

  • To minimise the contact resulting from visits to stores or outlets
  • To minimise the number of unnecessary visits to offices
  • To minimise non-essential travel

This means that the Commission will look to obtain premises information by remote means. This includes requesting electronic data or recordings and where possible/necessary undertaking Skype meetings.

 

Will Licensing Authorities undertake premises-based assessments?

LA requirements remain the same. Individual LAs will undertake their own risk assessments and implement policies and procedures accordingly.

 

Who do I report my concerns to if I think government Covid-19 guidelines are not being followed correctly?

The Gambling Commission is not responsible for addressing breaches of Covid19 guidance. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE), Local Authorities, and local Police Forces (England & Wales only) have the relevant information on their websites.

 

Risk Assessments 

General business risk assessment

Whilst not a requirement, we would expect operators to consider the risks posed to compliance with the Act, LCCP and associated guidance. As such we may seek evidence to support this.

 

Do operators need to review their premises [local] risk assessment(s)?

Operators may have to implement changes to manage social distancing and to protect staff and customers. Where these changes are significant, and could affect the mitigation of local risks, operators must review and where necessary update their risk assessments.

 

Do operators need to update their AML risk assessment?

Land based operators in the regulated sector are required to regularly review their AML risk assessments. Casinos are not reopening in June, but we would expect them to review the risks when they do. Operators in the unregulated sector are expected to review the risks and if required update any risk assessments.

 

Premises  

What do operators need to consider if they are putting screens around machines for customer protection?

Operators must ensure that whatever measures they put in place to socially distance customers, staff can continue to supervise the premises, monitor customers behaviour for signs of gambling-related harm and monitor compliance with age-restrictions.

 

Do the social distancing rules mean customer interactions are suspended?

No. Operators must ensure that staff can and do undertake customer interactions that are meaningful and effective and that they comply with the LCCP and with our Customer Interaction guidance .

 

Do operators still need to undertake Age Verification (AV) check programs?

Operators are still required to undertake these programs. Suppliers (e.g. Serve Legal) could also be undertaking their own business risk assessments that may require changes to the process.

 

If customers are wearing PPE (facemasks), are operators still required to undertake AV checks?

Yes, Government guidance states that customers can be asked to remove their masks for AV checks. If customers refuse, then staff should follow operator guidance on refusing service.

 

If customers are wearing PPE (facemasks), are operators still required to enforce self-exclusions?

Yes. There are no changes to an operator’s responsibilities.  Operators are expected to review their policies and procedures and to take a pragmatic approach.

 

Can operators move their gaming machines to allow for social distancing? Where plans submitted to LA stipulate specific areas for machines (most likely betting shops) operators must contact the LA for advice first.

Can operators expand the use of TITO?

We expect full and proper supervision of these facilities, in particular the monitoring for potential money laundering or safer gambling issues. Operators must ensure that they can evidence appropriate controls when installing TITO and all gaming machines must comply with the relevant technical standards.

 

Can betting operators increase the number of SSBTs?

We expect full and proper supervision of these facilities. In particular the monitoring for potential money laundering or safer gambling issues. Provided operators can evidence appropriate controls when installing SSBTs, use can be expanded. 

 

Can operators replace safer gambling messaging (posters/leaflets etc.) with social distancing/Covid 19 messaging?

Our guidance on the provision and display of information has not changed.

 

Will the Commission suspend test-purchasing?

We will continue to carry out test-purchasing to identify those that are operating unlawfully.

 

What will the Commission do about the period of time during which there were no test-purchase exercises?

We do not want operators to be disadvantaged and so we will be calculating results only for the periods during which premises are open.

 

Staff  

What happens if staff will not or cannot undertake customer interactions due to social distancing or Covid 19 concerns?

Operators must ensure customer interactions take place. Staffing issues are a matter for individual operators, but our expectation is that they are confident in their abilities to meet all of our requirements, including customer interactions, when they reopen. Where we find evidence of non-compliance, we will take swift action.  

 

What happens if a PML goes sick with C-19 or has to self-isolate?

Our expectation is that operators will have in place contingency plans. So long as this is the case, wherever possible the Commission will be flexible on arrangements.


Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: UKGC: Information for operators re-opening land-based gambling premises

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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Relax Gaming appoints Antonia Svensson as Chief Commercial Officer

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Relax Gaming, the iGaming aggregator and supplier of award-winning content, has announced the appointment of Antonia Svensson as its new Chief Commercial Officer, marking a key step in the company’s next phase of commercial growth.

Svensson brings over 13 years of experience in the gaming industry, having held senior leadership roles across payments, content supply, and operations.

Her career began at Trustly, overseeing payment solutions for the gaming vertical, before joining Yggdrasil Gaming as Chief Commercial Officer. Most recently, she served as General Manager Malta at Light & Wonder, where she was responsible for the company’s online casino business across Europe.

In addition to her executive background, Svensson has sat on several gaming industry boards, including Fantasma Games, contributing strategic insights to support business development and innovation.

Now based at Relax Gaming’s Malta headquarters, Svensson will oversee all commercial activity across the group, supporting its global roadmap and driving new revenue opportunities through strategic partnerships.

Martin Stålros, CEO at Relax Gaming, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Antonia to Relax as our new CCO. Her standout experience and industry knowledge can serve as a fantastic asset to the company on a commercial level and I’m delighted that she has joined Relax at such an exciting stage in our development.”

Antonia Svensson, Chief Commercial Officer at Relax Gaming, said: “Relax Gaming has carved out an impressive reputation as one of the most forward-thinking and dynamic companies in iGaming. Having watched its growth closely over the years, I’m incredibly proud to now be part of this journey.

“I’m eager to collaborate with the talented team here to drive strategic growth, strengthen our partner relationships, and unlock new commercial opportunities across global markets.”

The post Relax Gaming appoints Antonia Svensson as Chief Commercial Officer appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Neosurf and BridgerPay announce new strategic partnership

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Pioneering cash-to-digital payments company teams up with market-leading payment orchestration platform to help partners unlock their full potential

Neosurf, the progressive online payments company known for its expertise in cash-to-digital solutions, smooth user experiences and providing ongoing responsible gaming and AML support to its partners has announced it has formed a new strategic partnership with the highly scalable and data-centric payment orchestration platform, BridgerPay.

Famed in the online payments industry for its prebuilt connections, unified dashboard and single-source reporting, BridgerPay is a fully agnostic platform that can be integrated into any set-up to help clients automate their payment flows and gain real-time insights into their customers.

Among the company’s wide range of solutions, BridgerPay is particularly well-known for its Bridger RetryTM capability, which empowers clients to save up to 30% of soft declined card payments by automatically referring them to fallback providers without disrupting the customer experience.

“Like Neosurf, BridgerPay is a company that’s fully committed to improving the online payments experience not just for operators, but for their customers as well,” said Andrea McGeachin, Neosurf’s Group CEO. “By teaming up with them, we’ll be able to ensure that Neosurf is seamlessly integrated into their clients’ checkouts as a payment option, giving bettors even more freedom over how they deposit.

“Not only will this improve the online cashier experience for customers by giving them instant access to our quick and secure cash-to-digital solutions, but it will also allow all BridgerPay partners to serve the huge number of players who prefer to use cash for their online transactions.”

With BridgerPay already helping organisations worldwide connect with hundreds of payment providers through simple, ready-made integrations,  adding Neosurf further expands merchant choice and customer access.

“We’re delighted to partner with Neosurf. Their cash-to-digital payment solutions will play an important role in helping our clients reach and engage new customers across a wide range of markets,” said Matthew Boundy, PSP Partnership Manager. “Offering a service that reduces operators’ transaction costs, supports responsible gaming and AML best practice and provides a frictionless user experience to customers, they’re a key partner for us and will add enormous value to our clients.”

Though initially covering just European markets, the partnership between Neosurf and BridgerPay has plenty of scope to grow in future and will also see the two companies share knowledge and collaborate on technical solutions as they continue to innovate within the online payment space.

The post Neosurf and BridgerPay announce new strategic partnership appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Bede takes gamification to the next level with all-new Tournament feature

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Bede, the data-driven iGaming technology provider known for its market leading software and full-service platform solutions, has announced the launch of a proprietary Tournament feature that has the potential to completely revolutionise partners’ gamification options.

Created to provide a flexible and cost-effective solution for customers looking to engage their players via tournament and leaderboard promotions, the new feature makes it easy for operators to create their own custom contests without any of the limitations of normal provider-led offerings.

Whereas traditional tournament packages are typically tied to one provider – meaning operators can only incorporate games from a pre-defined line-up – Bede’s Tournaments offer a completely agnostic solution, allowing partners to have greater freedom and offer much more choice to their players.

The feature also alleviates the need for admins to learn provider-specific systems in order to set up their tournaments as they can simply create them in the centralised Bede back office, enabling them to take a more consistent approach and reduce the front-end work required to get them up and running.

Of course, all tournaments built via the Bede back-office can also be combined with any of the other services that are included in the company’s platform tool kit, meaning operators can easily create and automate prizes or view tournament history and performance data in the Player Account Manager (PAM).

From an end-user perspective, Bede Tournaments use APIs that make it simple for players to understand and check their current leaderboard position, creating an intuitive and highly immersive front-end experience that helps keep them engaged for the duration of every contest.

With these core product features working in tandem to drive user activity and increase customer satisfaction, Bede’s new Tournaments will change the way operators think about their gamification options and provide partners with a more dynamic way to incentivise players.

Colin Cole-Johnson, Chief Executive Officer at Bede Gaming, said: “With gamification features becoming an increasingly important part of operators’ engagement tool kits, our latest innovation makes it easy to create exciting tournaments that boost activity and truly appeal to players.

“Designed to address the drawbacks of traditional provider-led tournament offerings such as limited game choice and complicated technical set-up, our Tournaments will give operations teams the freedom and flexibility to create their own custom contests without the hassle of having to learn a new system each time. This way, they can pick the games and prizes they like, while also utilising our full suite of platform services to create an altogether more enjoyable experience.”

The post Bede takes gamification to the next level with all-new Tournament feature appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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