The Parliamentary All-Party Betting and Gaming Group (APBGG) has launched an inquiry into the GB Gambling Commission, intending to discern the regulator’s “competence and effectiveness”.
The inquiry follows a series of complaints the APBGG received about the Commission from industry insiders.
Comments made about the Commission in reports issued by the Public Accounts Committee, National Audit Office and House of Lords Select Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry in 2020 were deemed insufficient to address the discontent voiced to the APBGG.
APBGG co-chair Scott Benton MP said: “I believe it is essential that the key player in our industry is challenged over its actions. For a number of years, industry members have come to us and complained about the activities of the Commission.
“They have been too scared to go public with their concerns, some even about the very legality of the Commission’s undertakings due to the Commission’s power over them. As they have no formal method of complaint apart from to the Commission itself, we feel it is our duty to provide a conduit for legitimate criticism of the regulator.”
The complaints received by the APBGG range from those questioning the Commission’s ability to function properly, instances where the Commission has overstepped the powers of a regulator, or examples where the Commission is perceived to have acted outside the Regulator’s Code.
The APBGG has given UK operators until 31 October to submit complaints relating to the Commission.
Should the inquiry warrant a report, APBGG will present its findings to the Gambling Act Review while granting the Commission’s CEO a chance to respond at an industry audience.
Following the departure of Neil MacArthur as chief executive back in March – in the wake of the Football Index scandal – Andrew Rhodes was appointed to the position in an interim capacity. Meanwhile, Marcus Boyle has also replaced Bill Moyes as the Commission’s chair as Moyes term expired’.
Benton added: “As Co-Chairman of the All Party Betting and Gaming Group, We are pleased that the new interim CEO has been given the job of ‘rebooting’ the regulator, we hope that the findings of our investigation will help him and DDCMS answer some very serious concerns that the industry has. All the British gambling industry wants is a competent and effective regulator.”
