Gambling - LCCP Social Responsibility - Gambling Commission response following consultation.

The Gambling commission has issued two documents in relation to its Social Responsibility Review. The process started last summer and the consultation closed on 31st October last year. There have been 141 responses to the initial consultation.

This has resulted in the GC producing a response to the LCCP social responsibility review and an updated LCCP document both of which can be found by following the links below.

The updated LCCP will for the most part come into effect on 8th May 2015 with certain exceptions.

The changes significantly strengthen the Licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) and clarify the leading role that operators themselves must take.

The changes include: 

• Operators' employees must be able to supervise customers effectively on gambling premises. And they must have arrangements for identifying customers who are at risk of gambling-related harm, if they are not displaying obvious signs
• Larger operators must conduct test purchasing to make sure that their systems for preventing underage gambling are working
• By April 2016, land-based operators must have in place schemes that allow a customer to make a single request to self-exclude from all operators of a similar type within their area - typically where they live and work. The Commission is also working with industry representatives to develop a national online self-exclusion scheme, which should be in place in 2017.
• A range of measures to ensure that marketing and advertising is socially responsible, including a requirement that the marketing of ‘free bet' offers is open, transparent and not misleading. 
• Online operators must provide ‘time-out' facilities so that players can take a break from their gambling, and offer players the ability to set a timed on-screen check to help them review their spend and possibly stop playing.
• Major operators must set out what specific steps they are taking to minimise harm from gambling, how they assess their effectiveness and their plans for improvement over the coming year against which progress can be judged.

The exceptions to the 8th May implementation date are as follows;

• the amendments to Remote Technical Standards (and the new provision relating to time-outs on remote gambling platforms), which come into force on 31 October 2015
• remote national self-exclusion, where the Commission has committed to giving one month's notice ahead of implementation of the scheme
• sector-specific multi-operator self- exclusion, where the relevant provision will come into force on 6 April 2016
• the requirement to assess local risks, which will also come into force on 6 April 2016
• amendments relating to the Consumer Rights Bill, which will come into force at the point that the Bill is enacted.

In addition further LCCP documents are promised.

We will keep you updated.