The United Kingdom Gambling Commission as a body in its essence was created to fill a vacuum in an already existing gambling industry. Their task has been clear right from the start; to set and enforce regulations in the gambling sector after doing well to conduct proper research as to the loopholes that exist.
Without doubts, this regulatory body has been nothing short of focused and effective in the discharge of its duties in the last few years. Right from setting the rules, they have further created frameworks to ensure these set rules are likewise enforced. Not just that, the body has similarly created several schemes and programs like GamStop, GamCare, and other therapeutic measures towards combating the different ills that plague the United Kingdom gambling industry.
In this text, we will take you through the journey of this commission to allying with gambling enthusiasts to ensure that every dispute that arises in any aspects, involving a bettor is rectified clearly and amicably. We will further examine the result of their review, the measures that have been put in place, and how it can be of help to you as a customer of any gambling service provider.
How Do UKGC and GamStop Protect Customers?
Shortly after the UKGC had introduced the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme, the commission decided to review the complaints procedures in the betting industry. This review gave rise to the set of fresh laws that came into effect in 2015 to guide the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provision
The change made to the regulations then made the gambling regulatory commission come to be an essential authority for the provision of ADR services in the gambling industry, and it became their duty to likewise authorize ADR providers.
This step is a step forward to raise the bar for services offered in the gambling industry and to ensure consumers are the main favourites of every gambling procedure. The decisions made were established on information gotten from ADR providers, gambling operators, and other consumers.
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission discovered that the existing stream of affairs was not in favour of the consumers at all. Customers have found it a daunting task to enjoy no deposit bonuses without GamStop requirement, found it time-consuming to do so when they eventually gain access, and there are now concerns as to whether these services are self-sufficient and transparent.
To therefore protect customers, this commission began to work closely with gambling services providers, ADR providers, trade bodies, and consumers themselves as well as their representatives to give rise to developments in the system of the gambling industry. Here a few of the new regulations for gambling operators to follow as regards dispute resolution and complaints.
- First off, authorized gambling operators are instructed to fulfil specific criteria when dealing with complaints, and provide dispute resolution only through an independent third party or ADR provider.
- Gambling operators are required to ensure that their policies and protocols for receiving and dealing with complaints are honest, free of discrepancies, and transparent. As a gambling operator, your protocols must provide customers with detailed and available information on the right way to lodge their complaints without leaving out the timescales your company’s customer support will take to give a reply. You must likewise include information as to how your customers can move their complaints up to a higher level should they not be satisfied.
- Operators must similarly provide structures in place for their customers to refer any complaints to an ADR provider, as long as you have been incapable of ratifying the conflict within 8 weeks of receiving it.
- As a gambling operator, you are obligated to acknowledge complaints made over the phone, in person, or through email if you have created such structures. You are to also acknowledge complaints made through third-party intermediaries/ support devices such as the Resolver web tool.
- You will again not assign irrational time limits to your customers to lodge their complaints.
- You will give any customer that complains a written confirmation that they have come to the end of the complaints process, at most, eight weeks after accepting the original complaint. This should also contain information on how the complaints can be escalated to the ADR.
- Your customer support should provide replies to inquiries from ADR providers in not more than 10 working days after getting the request.
All of these are in place to ensure that you as the customer are protected and that you are not left aloof as regards whatever complaints you might have concerning any issue you face while you’re at it.
How To Make A Complaint?
For this section, we have discovered that the process of lodging complaints is not the same for every gambling service provider, not only in the UK but alike in other parts of the world. It is for this reason that the UKGC has mandated that every gambling operator will create a detailed and clear outline that will be made available to you, the customers as to how you are to make your complaints and get it rectified in due time.
