UKGC addresses concerns over in-play betting
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has outlined its position regarding in-play betting by saying this form of gambling does not represent a “significant risk” to its licensing objectives more than other wagering activities.
The national gambling regulatory body acknowledged that, as with other forms of betting, in-play activities can raise issues that could impact objectives, namely the fairness and transparency of betting, the integrity of wagering, as well as the risk of harm within the betting medium.
In regards to fairness and openness, the UKGC said that in-play betting “does not appear to generate specific risks to the licensing objectives as long as bettors are sufficiently aware of their position and the respective positions of other bettors and the betting operators”.
The body added: “We do not consider it necessary to intervene to prevent some players using technology advantages, such as faster connectivity speeds, to gain a competitive edge provided it is clear to all players that this can be done.”
The UKGC did admit there is potential for people to exploit in-play “for criminal or otherwise inappropriate gain”, thus raising integrity issues, although the body added that other forms of betting have similar potential for exploitation.
In relation to the risk of harm, the UKGC said it does not consider an individual who bets in-play to be “automatically at increased risk of harm from gambling”, but added that it expects its licensees to monitor all punters for signs of risk, as required by its licence conditions and codes of practice.
The body added: “We will continue to monitor in-play betting for fairness and openness as part of our overall betting compliance programme, and take its particular characteristics into account in our wider work on integrity in sports (and other) betting and gambling related harm.”
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