Reality Checks: widespread non-compliance seen throughout the gambling industry
This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.
Various remote gambling operators have struggled to meet the Gambling Commission's new requirement for operators to include 'reality check' facilities in their online offerings.
As previously reported, RTS 13B of the Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards (the "RTS") came into effect on 30 April 2016. Pursuant to this, all remote operators must provide customers with the option to set the frequency at which they will receive a 'reality check' during a gaming session – a display showing the time elapsed since their session began. The customer must then acknowledge the reality check for it to be removed from their screen. The full version of the RTS can be found here which also includes implementation guidance for these new requirements.
Word has spread throughout the industry that many operators have struggled to comply with the new requirement in time for the 30 April deadline due to technical issues. The Commission appears to have taken a pragmatic approach to the complications faced, and has granted some operators a grace period in which to comply. Non-compliant games have been allowed to remain online with the caveat that operators work to make them compliant as soon as possible and that their incompatibility is brought to the consumers' attention. The Commission has not yet issued a statement regarding this approach, however operators that have sought relief have been granted time to comply and seemingly without a specific deadline.
The reality check requirement is yet another illustration of the Commission's focus on social responsibility and protection of vulnerable individuals. This was also given top billing in the Commission's latest corporate business plan and in Sarah Harrison's speech to the Bingo Association at its AGM last month. With the Commission elevating the importance of protecting consumers to yet even higher levels, it should not come as a great surprise to operators if Commission announces additional stringent requirements in the coming year.
