UK operators are being encouraged to voluntarily sign up for the industry-led data-sharing scheme GamProtect by the Gambling Commission and trade group the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), but low participation could result in joining becoming mandatory.
GamProtect is the gambling industry’s response to the Gambling Commission’s 2020 challenge to the online industry, represented by the BGC, to explore and develop a so-called "single customer view".
The BGC held a showcasing event for the safety solution in London on Wednesday (September 11).
Since its launch of an industry-led pilot scheme in 2023, 5,527 vulnerable consumers have been flagged to the GamProtect scheme, with 88 percent of those players flagged matched by at least one operator and 66 percent matched by at least two operators, according to Tim Miller, the executive director of research and policy at the Gambling Commission.
The initial focus for this part of the pilot was on sharing information between operators where customers voluntarily disclosed very serious markers of health-related harms.
People flagged to the solution can ask to be removed from it. Since its launch, 120 customers have used the redress scheme to reinstate their gambling accounts, with around 40 of those players being flagged at the very early stage of the scheme essentially by mistake, according to Miller.
Miller explained that encouraging operators to join the scheme was very much a “carrot”, but he also referenced the “stick” that could be used if participation levels from the industry are unsatisfactory.
“The white paper was really clear that options to potentially mandate solutions would also be open to consideration. This could especially be the case if participation by operators doesn't increase. GamProtect is your opportunity to be ahead of that curve and shape something that could in the future become a requirement,” Miller said.
Miller also addressed concerns about the scheme driving the most vulnerable customers to the black market.
“We are working closely with big tech companies, most notably Google. There are certain search terms, like 'not on GAMSTOP' used to produce a list of illegal sites at the top of the search.
"We started referring URLs to Google, reporting around 7,000 last year. We have an agreement for them to take those URLs down. From April to July this year we have already reported 60,000 URLs to Google,” Miller said.
The founding members of GamProtect include Bally's, Flutter, bet365, Entain and evoke.
Since its launch, seven additional members have joined the scheme, according to Kane Purdy, GamProtect board chair and managing director of Gamesys Operations Limited.
Purdy said GamProtect is a “simple, easy to understand solution that can prevent harm to most vulnerable customers” and allows operators to “confidently and compliantly share information”.
“GamProtect’s board is currently made up of founder members. It is hardly representative of the diverse industry. The intention is to be a listening organisation. To do that it needs to be reflective of our industry and operators,” Purdy said before encouraging any operators that want to shape discourse around the solution to join it.
GamProtect has been funded by its founding members. Operators that join the scheme are expected to make financial contributions to it; however, details of these contributions were not discussed during the opening of the event.