UKGC extends public consultation until Friday 26 February

A public consultation on the prevalence of gambling-related harm in the UK has been extended until this Friday, when the regulator will gather final feedback from stakeholders and the public.

UKGC has decided to provide reliable data to the authorities

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) decided on Friday to expand its consultation on the prevalence of problem gambling in the country. The process will continue until Friday, February 26, and will focus on collecting more data from respondents for use by the regulator in determining how to build on tackling problem gambling.

According to the regulator, this information could prove critical in determining how the review of the 2005 Gambling Act It should continue to move forward. The UKGC is committed to completing the process in a government-commissioned exercise, and will then report any findings to UK health experts.

The data would be used to try to assess how problem gambling affects the population and what can be done to prevent it. More importantly, the regulator itself can optimize the monitoring and collection of data and how it is used to create binding regulation that protects consumers first.

Repeatedly, lawmakers and regulators have called for more reliable data that allows companies to act on hard facts rather than caveats. Several key issues may depend on how data is collected. Some of the most debated topics today are affordability controls , loss limits and additional health measures to protect vulnerable consumers.

The upcoming review of the Gambling Act has many stakeholders on edge as lawmakers want to limit player losses to £100. Lawmakers also want to suspend gambling sponsorship for sports franchises , depriving the sport of millions.

Without replacement income, opponents argue, the sports industry would be left in shambles. Having data from the consultation could help find a compromise. The debates are just beginning.