UKGC publishes updated COVID-19 guidance and FAQ

Further to its previously issued COVID-19 guidance, the Gambling Commission has today published updated COVID-19 Guidance & FAQs” (downloadable below) that address the following issues/questions:

  1. If the Commission’s offices are closed, will my postal application be processed?
  2. How can I make a licence application?
  3. Your contact details and invoicing, including:
    • the following fees information for land-based operators:
      • We have received a number of enquiries asking for a reduction in fees or the option to pay by instalments. Unfortunately, due to the way that our fee system is structured we are not able to offer either of these options.
      • One option for reducing the fee would be for licensees to apply to decrease their fee category given the reduction in gross gambling yield (GGY). Actioning this at the earliest opportunity will reduce the annual fee. You can use the fee calculator on our website to work out the reduced annual fee.
      • Operators may also wish to consider applying to make a change to their existing licence for example moving to a remote licence and this can be done here.
      • Given the uncertain nature of the length of this crisis, some operators may feel they have no option but to surrender their licence. If a licence is surrendered the annual fee will no longer be payable. To surrender a licence, email your Account Manager directly or send your email to licensing@gamblingcommission.gov.uk
    • maintenance fees for personal licence holders.
  4. Can I vary the terms of my licence?
  5. A reminder for online operators (picking up on the message to online gambling operators from Neil McArthur, the Commission’s CEO posted on 26 February 2020), namely:
    • Assess individual affordability on an ongoing basis – customers may be experiencing disrupted income
    • Increase social responsibility interactions and intervene where customers are showing signs of gambling-related harm
    • Onboard new customers in a socially responsible way and not exploit the current situation for marketing purposes
    • Refresh the information they have on customers regularly
    • Review the levels which trigger interaction for AML and SR
    • Ensure that your gambling products have been tested by a test house before they are released to the market.
  6. How is the Commission carrying out its compliance assessments?
  7. Is it possible to put back the draw dates on lotteries or raffles if sales are being affected due to the current situation?
  8. Can a lottery draw be conducted digitally instead if someone isn’t present physically to conduct the draw?
  9. If I am running a small local authority-licensed society lottery, am I able to change the draw date due to current restrictions?

UPDATES:

1. The Gambling Commission subsequently published an expanded version of its COVID-19 Guidance & FAQs which is the May 2020 version that you can download below, replacing that which was originally published on 30 March 2020. It contains answers to the following additional FAQ:

  • What are the rules around buying National Lottery tickets in person during lockdown?
  • What about the ban on using credit cards to gamble? Will you still enforce it given the current situation?
  • What is the Commission doing about operators offering ‘novelty’ markets around Covid-19?

2. The Commission thereafter published a further expanded version of its “Covid-19 Guidance & FAQs” which, as reported by us here, contained FAQs in relation to its additional formal customer interaction guidance published on 12 May 2020. It omits at least one FAQ included within the May 2020 version, so this time we are not replacing that earlier version but instead adding the June 2020 version that you can also download below.