Gambling Commission to decide on bet-on-lottery reform
UK government tells British regulator to decide how best to address consumer confusion over lottery-based products
The UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has given the Gambling Commission the go-ahead to advise the government on changes to rules which govern the offer of online lottery products.
In a government response to a report published in March by the DCMS select committee, the government said the Commission should advise on three proposed measures, adding that it “agrees that public transparency and reducing customer confusion is important”.
eGaming Review understands the Commission is currently exploring three options, which were proposed by Camelot, but has yet to commit to one.
It appears the most likely approach would be a move to clarify the differences between lotteries and bets placed on lotteries within marketing, with a spokesperson at the Commission telling eGR the marketing advice it published for operators in July is “as relevant now as it was when it was published”.
Other options for the Commission involve reclassifying all bets on lotteries as pure lotteries or introducing a complete ban on bets placed on UK licensed lotteries.
Both options would likely face stiff resistance, with a number of operators having scaled up their lottery-based offerings in recent months and the growth of several lottery-focused operators.
In July one such operator, MyLotto24, told eGR that it was maintaining an open dialogue with the Commission to ensure it complied on regulation and said it understood the importance that customers understand the difference in products.