Key points:
- Bacta is involved in arcades and other low-stakes land-based venues
- Miller addresses the various developments throughout the year
- He highlights how the Commission will continue to work with Bacta through the upcoming proposals
Tim Miller, Executive Director of the Gambling Commission, delivered a speech as part of his attendance at the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (Bacta) Annual Convention.
Bacta covers the amusement and land-based low-stakes gambling entertainment industry, such as arcades and pier attractions. The income generated by Bacta members is used to support UK pubs, sustain the venues and bolster tourism.
Miller wasted no time in addressing how important these venues are for British culture. “Indeed, it’s worth reflecting that it was actually a family entertainment centre that once gave me my ‘greatest Dad achievement,’” he laughed. “That moment when your daughter looks at you like you’re a Marvel superhero because you managed to snare a Paw Patrol toy in a crane grabber, or as my girls like to call it ‘a non-complex cat D gaming machine’.”
However, it’s not all about the memories these places make, but the business operations themselves. “The Commission takes collaboration very seriously and we want to work with you to make gambling safer, fairer and crime free,” Miller continued. “So today, I’ll start by discussing our approach to that and how we want to take that forward with you.
“Everyone here today knows the Gambling Commission has broad powers, powers we’re not afraid to use either,” he said. “Where we see failings, we will take action and we have raised standards through the use of these powers.”
Good to know: In August of this year, a number of changes were introduced to Bacta venues, including the requirement to conduct test purchasing and implement Think 25 age verification
He went on to explain how Bacta and the Commission hold regular roundtables to discuss potential issues and ensure the compliance teams can stay ahead of problems as they arise.
Their recent discussions have highlighted seven pillars of potential problem gambling at casual land-based venues: time indicators, spend, behaviour or appearance, use of gambling management tools, customer-led contact, play indicators and big wins.
Miller went on to explain how important it was to monitor the outcome of the actions of staff when intervening. “Without overall evaluation of a customer interaction approach how does a business know it works and is achieving the objective of the licence condition?” He asks. “If you were to boil this down to one simple message it would be Don’t just check your policies and procedures are being followed, check that they work in practice.”
He concluded by discussing how the Commission will continue to work with venues in terms of AML and various proposals, including those relating to free bets and bonuses, empowering customers through responsible gambling rolls, increasing transparency around player funds and the upcoming statutory levy.
“Bacta members are a critical part of that work and at the Commission we want to continue to work with you: to deliver high levels of compliance, to deliver a sustainable industry and to deliver for your customers,” Miller concluded. “We are all making progress. So let’s keep going in the year ahead.”
Recently, the Commission published its 2024 Young People and Gambling Report, which examined how children and young people are interacting with gambling.
