Educating UK Gamblers – New UKGC Player Rights Guide!

UK online casino players & sports betting fans are rarely confused thanks to UKGC guides. Are you interested in the UKGC Player Rights Guide? (Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash)

A brand-new page launched on the UKGC website provides a ‘UKGC Player Rights Guide’ stating UK gamblers’ ‘right to obtain information’ from land-based or online casinos.

This is a useful guide that shows all players exactly what information a UKGC licensed online casino, poker room, sports betting site, lottery website, or virtual bingo hall should offer its clientele whether existing customers or just browsing the website with the intention of signing up if the person likes what he or she sees.

It is another example of just how well looked after UK online gamblers are. There are strict laws surrounding gambling in most European countries today, while there are many countries that have more liberal laws like Canada, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand. Now liberal laws mean more options, but at the same timeless protection for players i.e., if something goes wrong, and the casino tried to cheat the player, the player may not have the support needed to resolve the issue. In short, UK players can spend less time researching a casino for trustworthiness compared to those in Canada, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand who need guidance to make sure they are choosing the right casino to play at.

For UK casino players, the process is simple because, in the United Kingdom, all companies with an association to gambling must stick to a strict and stringent regime that may pain the brands offering betting and casino services, but they ultimately, they are there to protect UK citizens. Some rules do pain punters, for example banning the use of credit cards, yet this move has perhaps helped dissuade people from getting into debt gambling online.

The key reason casinoplusbonus.com exists is that we want to help players choose trustworthy casinos. Yes, game selection, software providers, and customer services are important, but also playing at an online casino you can trust to payout when you win and not try to pull the wool over your eyes are also important factors, hence we have our reputable casino reviews guide to help those looking to gamble safely online!

What Are the Guidelines Outlined in the UKGC Player Rights Guide?

Awareness of gambling, to the client, is extremely important in the UK. A gambling business is obliged to display several key pieces of information. The information they should provide is the following:

• Any and all possible transactions
• The amount of time the player has used gambling
• How a player can set limitations on money
• Directions on requesting ‘reality checks’ – commonly known as having a break from gaming activity
• What happens if there are interruptions or malfunctions during play

The company should provide these for a number of reasons, but essentially, they are put in place to protect both the player and the business!

Potential Account Fees

It is possible for gambling companies to force a fee upon a player; however, it is only optional. A player’s account will be classed as ‘dormant’ if it has been inactive for at least 1 year. This means that the player has not made any transaction through that account for 12 months.

Remaining inactive for 12 months may cause your account to be classed as a ‘dormant account’ and a player may incur a charge.

The charges must be considered reasonable and the information regarding them must be clearly displayed in the account agreement that was made when first registering an account.

Before any fee is taken, the company should take a few steps to prevent any fees being charged. They must:

• attempt to return a player’s money before a charge is incurred
• give the player notice of at least 30 days prior to the charging of a fee, stating the date payment will be taken if they don’t once again become active

It is important to note that an account can involve your account balance becoming zero.

How a Gaming Business Protects you and your Money

All gaming businesses must provide some kind of protection to a player and their money. There are different levels in which you, as a player, would be covered should the business cease trading. The information regarding this should be clearly written into the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Safe Gambling

There has been a real movement within the industry to promote gaming safety for the purpose of reducing problem gamblers. Therefore, gambling companies must promote awareness and offer support. That can come in the form of contact support lines information, self-banning requests and internal awareness.

Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions must be reasonable and clear in language. They must also be made blatant. Any changes to any agreement or gaming rules must be made very clear to the player. Language should not be open to misinterpretation.

Legal basis

When you make a transaction with a gambling company, essentially, there is a contract being entered into by both parties. The Consumer Rights Acts 2015, will protect a player once that player has entered into such a contract. Wording can sometimes be misleading in contracts to give an advantage to a business and the Consumer Act will protect you against that

The Wording in a Contract must be:

• reasonable, a heavily worded contract could lead to certain terms and conditions being hidden.
• transparent, so the client can make a conscious decision after considering all information and facts.
• You can find out more about your consumer rights through CAB website.

Disagreements, Disputes and Complaints

• Every licensed gambling company must ensure that they have the correct structures in place to handle customer complaints.
• If a dispute is unresolved within a period of 8 weeks, then the company should make arrangements to direct your complaint elsewhere in order to resolve it.
• The National Lottery is not exempt from this.