Tougher Self-Exclusion Restrictions Coming in the UK

by Glenn Baird - January 14, 2019

After a BBC investigation, carried out by Radio 5 Live, proved that gamblers who had sought self-exclusion could continue gambling by changing their login details the Gambling Commission has announced that tougher ID checks will be coming.

The Gambling Commission has stated that this is something they were already aware of. In an official statement a spokesperson for the Commission said:

“We will shortly announce the outcome of a consultation on ID verification and if our proposals are implemented later this year, gambling businesses will have to prevent customers gambling using incorrect details.”

The Gambling Commission have sighted GamStop (their self-exclusion software) as a tool that can help those who want to self-exclude. However, the BBC investigation found that the software could be easily exploited.

A spokesperson for the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, Matt Zarb-Cousin claimed that he was not surprised by the findings of the investigation:

“Even if GamStop was completely accepted as self-exclusion it would only apply to British gambling sites and sites not licensed with the Gambling Commission would still be accessible. To be effective [self-exclusion] has to be layered.”

Tim Miller, the Commission’s executive director said he was “yet to see proper evidence of the effectiveness” of GamStop.
The UKGC has also raised concerns that GamStop does not share its list of users with promotional mailing lists.