William Moyes, Chairman of the Gambling Commission said that this plan “represents a significant step forward in addressing the many issues we, the industry, government and society must tackle effectively and without delay if the UK is to have a gambling culture that treats the consumer more fairly and tackles gambling-related harm more seriously and thus increases confidence in the integrity of the sector”.
Moyes said that there are five strategic priorities that will be covered in the three year plan which include the protection of the consumers’ interests, preventing harm to the public, raising standards in the gambling market, optimising returns to good causes from lotteries and finally to improve the way they regulate.
“We’ll be identifying ways to give more power and control to consumers to manage their gambling in a way that works for them. We’ll also continue to review and strengthen the rules to tackle unfair terms and misleading practices,” Moyes added.
In terms of preventing harm, Moyes admitted that although the National Responsible Gambling Strategy sets out clear objectives “progress with implementation remains too slow". He adds: "Over the next 12 months we will continue to work with
partners to improve understanding of the scale and nature of the problems that gambling can cause and of the impact on society. ”
Moyes also briefly mentions an alternative funding system which will help fund research, education and treatment for problem gamblers. “Companies also need to use the extensive data they hold to understand how to identify players who are developing gambling behaviour that is likely to become problematic, and how to help them change before their problem becomes unmanageable.”
The three year plan was announced last year and showed that only 34% of the population believed gambling to be fair and trusted. The plan also showed that 0.8% of the population are classed as problem gamblers.
