After a long wait, the White Paper finally arrived today to shake up the rules for the UK gambling community.
Harry Stewart-Moore, Commercial Litigator and Sports Law expert for law firm Gardner Leader has offered his insight on the release of the White Paper earlier today.
Stewart-Moore has practised in both the High Court and London Court of International Arbitration.
He opened his response to the White Paper by saying: "There’s no getting around the fact that the introduction of affordability checks marks a radical change for gambling in Great Britain.”
Stewart-Moore is referring to checks that will be implemented on the back of the White Paper reveal. There will be checks for those with a £125 ($155) net loss within a month and a £500 net loss within a year. Additionally there will be a more in-depth check for higher spenders who lose £1,000 within a day or £2,000 within a 90-day period.
Speaking further about the White Paper, Stewart-Moore summarises: “Bookmakers are going to be required to assess whether their customers can afford to place a bet before accepting.”
He would voice his concern about the implementation of this plan by saying: “There is a major question mark over whether bookmakers have the necessary expertise to carry out the necessary checks or to make a call on what a customer can or cannot afford. There continues to be a view in gambling regulation that: 'The fox can be trained to guard the hen-house.'"
