The UK Gambling Commission helms a global crackdown to prevent software providers from supplying illegal online gambling markets. (Image Courtesy of bindi_creator on Vecteezy)
What constitutes supplying an illegal online gambling market in the eyes of the UK Gambling Commission
This is going to become the burgeoning question for software providers and possibly some operators currently operating under the UKGC licensing authority.
As we mention in our British iGaming guide, all game developers supplying UK online casinos must apply and be approved for Gambling Software and Game Host (Casino) certificates under the UKGC licensing authority. Therefore, these software providers need to stay in the good graces of the UK Gambling Commission to continue serving the British iGaming and sports betting market.
However, there is a high chance a large number of software providers and/or operators are in danger of losing their right to supply British online casinos. The rationale behind any such suspension is if the Gambling Commission discovers gambling companies operating under its framework are found to be supplying illegal gambling operations.
Confirmation that the British licensing authority is actively seeking to revoke gambling licensing came via a speech by the UKGC chief executive, Andrew Rhodes. It was as part of his speech at the latest International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) webinar held this January. The webinar named ‘Setting the Gambling Agenda for 2025: a less political year?’ itself is a prerequisite to the formal event slated for June this year in Berlin.
One software provider in particular that keeps springing up in the firing line of gambling authorities globally is Evolution Gaming. The news for Evolution is not good; Andrew Rhodes directly mentioned the software provider by name. We also confirm this via the official report released on the UKGC website – IAGA Webinar – Andrew Rhodes speech.
What Constitutes Illegal Gambling Operations?
The golden question! With the debacle of the White Paper crushing the industry’s profits with online slot limits and compulsory levies, plus affordability checks likely to contribute to the growth of the black market gambling industry, who knows what could come next?
With all that being said, the UKGC and UK government consultations were reasonably transparent. Operators had time to prepare for new rules as soon as the White Paper was released. That is primarily thanks to the White Paper providing an outline of new rules that could come into place after consultation.
Hopefully, the same transparency when it comes to deciding what an illegal gambling operation is will come into play.
Will Gambling Sites Operating Under the Curacao GCB Become Blacklisted?
I would say that it is highly unlikely the UKGC is going to force all software providers and sports betting tech companies supplying online gambling platforms under Curacao’s GCB will be asked to cease supply to these operations.
Here is why I make this statement. In the IAGA Webinar, Andrew Rhodes specifically states that there are 22.5 million or so people who engage in gambling (in the UK) on a regular basis.
Now according to Stasitica’s 2023 calculations, the global iGaming market caters for around 1.6 billion players. A huge portion of that market are players signed up to Curacao online casino operating under the GCB licensing.
If the UKGC specifically targets GCB online gambling entertainment platforms as ‘all’ illegal, the UK will likely have no software providers remaining. Most would rather take the revenue hit by leaving the UKGC market rather than leaving the GCB market.
We are pretty sure Andrew Rhodes and his team are aware of this. Yet, an online casino operating under the GCB licensing framework allowing UK players to sign up will constitute an illegal gambling operation.
As a result, we may see some software providers served warnings via the UKGC that they are supplying casino platforms that accept UK players. It would then be down to the software provider to ensure that it no longer serves that platform.
The Caveat!
Yes, as always, there is a caveat to all of this. I mentioned in the above section that software providers may receive warnings from the UKGC. Yet, Andrew Roads also said during his IAGA Webinar speech that the UKGC will not be policing the illegal gambling market.
It would seem that his remarks indicate he expects operators and software providers to police themselves. His exact words were:
“Some have interpreted my remarks here as meaning I think the industry should be policing this rather than the regulator. Actually, I do not understand why anyone in the licenced industry would want to be in business with a company that is supporting illegal competition.”
“I would say that anyone reliant on a third party needs to be comfortable they are not likely to face that risk, and if you think you are, I would be doing something about that now. “
For me, it sounds somewhat contradictory. If the UKGC does not police the market, how will it define which software providers are supplying what the regulatory authority deems as ‘illegal’?
Surely, I am correct in saying that when the UKGC discovers a software provider may be supplying a platform the authority feels is a black market operation, then a warning will be issued.
Time Will Tell: As always, we have snippets of information. However, only time will tell us how the UKGC will deal with its threat to revoke licensing certificates.
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