On the 29 November 2023, the Gambling Commission (“GC”) released its second set of consultations on the Gambling White Paper which covers five key areas:
This article focuses on customer-led tools.
Customer-led tools
A substantial part of the government’s White Paper focused on its aim for gambling operators to improve customer-centric tools, such as setting financial limits and activity statements.
To achieve this, the GC are consulting on proposed changes to the Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards (RTS) to make sure that consumers who want to make use of tools can do so easily with minimum friction and in ways that work for them.
The Consultation is split into three parts, which this article mirrors. First, it sets out proposed changes to the RTS. Second, it discusses the concept of cross-operator deposit limits, and finally, it seeks views on artificial barriers to consumer choice (such as ‘dark patterns’).
Issue 1 - Account-level customer-led limits
The current requirements and implementation guidance for how customer-led financial limit-setting should be offered are set out in RTS 12 – Financial limits. In summary:
- The gambling system must provide easily accessible facilities for customers to impose their own financial limits, as part of the registration process or at the point of first deposit or payment;
- Limits could be in the form of deposit limits, spend limits, or loss limits;
- The period/duration of the limits on offer should include 24 hours, 7 days and one month;
- Where a customer sets simultaneous time frames, for example a daily deposit limit and a weekly limit, the lowest limit should always apply;
- Customer-led limits can only be increased at the customer’s request, after a cooling-off period of 24 hours has elapsed and the customer has taken positive action at the end of the cooling-off period; and
- Limit reductions are to be implemented within 24 hours of the request being received.
The Consultation contains proposals for amendments to RTS 12 – Financial limits. The intention of these proposals is to ensure the gambling system is optimised to enable and empower consumers to maintain awareness and control over their gambling.
| Area | Current Standard | Proposed Changes | Rationale |
| “Offering limits at registration or first deposit and any point onwards” | The gambling system must provide easily accessible facilities that make it possible for customers to impose their own financial limits. Customers must be given the opportunity to set a limit as part of the registration process. | All customers must be prompted to set a financial limit as early as possible and have the option and ability to set limits at any point onwards. | To improve the effectiveness of customer-set financial limits and ensure consistency across the remote gambling sector. |
| “Enabling customers to determine their own limits” | Customers should be offered the opportunity to select a deposit/spend limit from a list which may contain a ‘no limit’ option or to enter a limit of their choice. | When setting financial limits, customers must be presented with a ‘free text’ box to set the limit. The GC are also considering preventing the ‘no limit’ option (see “Options for implementation”). | The GC consider that free text is the most effective way to ensure full consumer choice and empower customers to consider and apply the right limits for them. |
| “Improving consistency and understanding of the type of limits offered” | Limits may be implemented per customer, per account, or other means. Limits could also be implemented across all products or channels or for individual products or channels. Limits could be in the form of: (i) deposit limits; (ii) spend limits; (iii) loss limits. | All gambling licensees should offer limits that are applied at the account level, regardless of whether they also offer limits across individual products or channels. Gambling systems must prevent a customer from depositing, staking/ spending, or incurring further losses from the point at which the customer-set limit is reached, until the limit period ‘restarts’. The customer would need to take proactive action to increase their limit once it has been reached. | To improve transparency and consistency across the industry and to simplify the landscape for consumers. The GC’s view is that offering a common type of financial limit across all gambling licensees would be beneficial for consumers in terms of improving understanding of how limits work, and would enable consumers to use the same type of limit across more than one account. |
| “Increasing visibility and reducing friction in accessing customer-led tools” | Financial limit facilities should be provided via a link on the homepage and should be available on deposit pages/screens or via a link on these pages or screens | There is an additional requirement that operators should ensure access to customer-led tools is visible and clear, as well as minimising the number of intermediate steps customers are required to take to navigate to these facilities. | To minimise the friction or number of steps in the customer journey for customer-led limits |
| “Reviewing limits and feedback on gambling activity” | All reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that customer-led limits are only increased at the customer’s request, only after a cooling-off period of 24 hours has elapsed and only once the customer has taken positive action at the end of the cooling off period to confirm their request. | The proposal removes the 24-hour ‘grace period’ for reduction in limits to be applied, so that customer requests to lower a limit are actioned immediately. Gambling licensees would be required to send personalised feedback to customers periodically using information such as their current balances and facilities. This information would need to be offered at intervals set by the customer, and every six months as a minimum. The guidance also provides that gambling licensees should notify customers when they are approaching their limits. | To enable the gambling system to respond more effectively to consumer choice, and to reflect technological developments and increasing automation since RTS 12 was last reviewed. Also, to enable customers to reflect on their gambling and provide an opportunity to review limits applied to ensure they remain meaningful according to the customer’s circumstances. |
| “Options for implementation” | - | Option 1 – Financial limit as the default option before depositing or gambling. Customers could choose to opt-out but they would be asked to take action and then confirm they wish to proceed without setting a limit. For existing accounts, the proposal states that they should be prompted to set a financial limit on an annual basis. Option 2 – Setting a limit for new accounts on opening, with no facility to opt-out. For existing accounts, gambling licensees would have to invite customers to set a financial limit on an annual basis. | Between the options, the aim is to strike a balance between increasing the take up of customer-led tools, while maintaining consumer choice. |
Issue 2 - Cross-operator deposit limits
In the Consultation, the GC are seeking stakeholders’ views on customer-set financial limits (in the form of deposit limits) that apply across all accounts held by an individual customer. However, at this stage they are not consulting on specific proposals for change.
The GC acknowledge that tools being developed in the financial sector may inform their approach in this area. The white paper highlights that approximately 90 percent of UK current accounts from retail banks now offer opt-in gambling blocks which prevent card payments to gambling companies once activated. Other payment providers like PayPal are increasingly providing similar tools. Building on these blocking services, there are tools being developed by the financial sector that offer limits for a customer that applies across all their gambling from the relevant bank account. For example, Lloyds Bank customers can set personalised monthly limits on how much they spend each month on gambling using their debit card.
The GC are looking to strengthen their evidence base on cross-operator deposit limits and seek views on any role this could play in the future. As well as the Consultation, the GC are separately seeking further information from other jurisdictions on how they have evaluated the outcomes of their individual schemes.
Issue 3 - Artificial barriers to consumer choice
Finally, the GC are seeking stakeholders’ views and specific examples where consumer decision-making has been influenced or encouraged through friction in the customer journey. Again, however, the GC are only seeking views at this stage and have not suggested any specific proposals.
This part of the Consultation is in response to evidence submitted in relation to the White Paper of friction being applied at various points in the customer journey, which may dissuade customers from acting in their own interest. Examples cited in the White Paper include:
- Product information and facilities for accessing gambling management tools being harder and further to access (more clicks) than depositing and gambling.
- The process for account closure being more onerous than opening an account or applying a self-exclusion to the account.
The GC also note that the proposals set out in Issue 1, are also intended to increase the visibility and reduce the number of clicks/steps to access facilities for customer-led tools.
Next steps
The consultation will last for 12 weeks and will close on 21 February 2024. Following the Consultation, the GC will analyse the responses alongside input from stakeholders and additional evidence gathered during the consultation period to formulate their response. The GC have stated that they anticipate (subject to the consultation) that the majority of topics will have a minimum of a three-month notice period between publishing the response and the proposed changes taking effect.
The Gambling Commission’s First Set of Consultations
The GC released its first set of consultations in July 2023, which ran to October that year. The GC has confirmed that the responses to the first set of consultations are currently being analysed. Further information on these consultations can be found through the following links:
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