Archive | August, 2019

Major gambling regulatory developments announced in Malta

For many years, we have represented gambling operators who hold licences granted by the Malta Gaming Authority (“MGA”). The matters on which we advise them typically include (a) operating licence applications they make to the UK Gambling Commission (“UKGC”), (b) regulatory investigations conducted against them by the UKGC, (c) marketing and advertising questions and (d) ensuring that […]

LGA publishes “Licensing Act 2003 – Councillors’ Handbook”

The Local Government Association (“LGA”) has published a Licensing Act 2003 – Councillors’ Handbook (England and Wales) that it hopes “will act as a helpful tool for licensing authorities in carrying out their functions under the Licensing Act”. Some may consider the handbook to be unnecessary in light of the comprehensive Home Office Guidance issued under […]

2019 Assurance Statement templates published

As we have previously reported, in 2015 the Gambling Commission introduced an Annual Assurance Statement (AAS) pilot process to obtain assurance from gambling operators (restricted to those with a gross yield from gambling of over £25 million per annum) that they “actively embed the objectives of the Gambling Act 2005 and the Licence Conditions and Codes […]

SARs In Action

The National Crime Agency has published Issue 2 of “Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) In Action“, described as “a United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) publication aimed at all stakeholders in the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regime”. The Gambling Commission says that its AML Team has contributed to this publication “as part of [its] commitment to sharing information with external […]

Review of FSB’s operating licence announced by the Gambling Commission

The Gambling Commission has today published the following news item on its website: Due to regulatory concerns, the Gambling Commission has instigated a review under s116 of the Gambling Act into FSB Technology (UK) Limited. FSB Technology (UK) Limited has voluntarily suspended activities on its Blackbet website. The voluntary suspension of the Blackbet website will […]

Spotlight on upcoming customer interaction changes

David Clifton’s Licensing Expert article for SBC News published today is entitled “Spotlight on upcoming customer interaction changes”. It particularly focuses on the Gambling Commission’s guidance for both remote and non-remote gambling operators that its licence-holders (with the exception of holders of non-remote lottery, gaming machine technical, gambling software and host licences) will be obliged to take into account when […]

Third in series of Gambling Commission blogs: “Move to mobile”

We have previously reported (on 19 July 2019 and on 28 July 2019) on in-depth qualitative research commissioned by the Gambling Commission to better understand how gambling fits into people’s lives. The Commission has now published the third in its series of blogs arising from this research, this time entitled “Move to Mobile” (that can be downloaded below). It […]