Exclusive Q&A with Warren Russell CEO/W2 Global Data
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The 2005 Gambling Act is under review from late 2020. Affordability is a key part of any changes to requirements. The G gambling commission has handed out more than £54m in fines over the past two years.
Affordability checks will be a key requirement for operators to support their own player protection initiatives and their customers. All areas of the industry must come together and collaborate on efforts and technologies in order to fully implement change.
The Gambling Commission is reviewing the 2005 G gambling act. It will play a more centralised role in its updated regulations. The commission will focus on affordability checks.
Warren Russell is CEO of W2 Global Data. W 2G's Affordability for Gambling Tool helps operators to balance player experience and player protection. If something needs investigating after affordability check, it is the responsibility of the operator to deal with it further.
The UK market is not heading towards over-regulation. However, operators need to balance player protection with commercial viability. Some current solutions, such as open banking, could be considered as impacting the player experience too much. A player could simply go to another operator if they don't want to take the extra steps to pass affordability.
The Gambling Commission is conducting a consultation on the issue of affordability for gambling. The US and Netherlands are rolling out regulated gambling and opening up their own online gambling marketplace in 2021.
The industry is struggling due to the delay of the Gambling act review. W2 Global Data is working on a solution to this problem. It can be combined with what other companies are already doing to protect players.
