July 7, 2014

Items of particular interest are as follows:

Publication of Statutory Instrument

As noted in our previous bulletin, the Statutory Instrument provides that the deadline for applications is to be September 16th and the Act will come into effect on October 1st. The extension of the deadline to September 16th is welcome, as is the confirmation that “umbrella” licences will be granted. 

Please also refer to the news release issued by the Commission following publication of the Statutory Instrument.

Update to transitional provisions for the Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards (“RTS”) and the testing strategy

The Commission confirmed it has updated the document that it has issued to provide advice for operators intending to apply for a Commission licence under the transitional provisions following the implementation of the Act.

Amendments to the document include the addition of:

• a new Annex A which details: (i) the circumstances in which the Commission will accept the independent third party testing of games and products against other jurisdictions’ technical standards; and (ii) the documentation to be supplied to the Commission with the licence application in such circumstances; and
• a new Annex B which, in recognition of the update of security standard ISO/IEC 27001:2005 to ISO/IEC 27001:2013, provides advice to operators on the timeframe for the audits and the transition to the new security standard.

Please refer to the updated document to view the content of the new Annexures in detail.

Update regarding RTS 8 (auto-play functionality)

The Commission has acknowledged that there are significant differences between the requirement on auto-play functionality specified in RTS 8 and technical standards applied in other jurisdictions (from which operators can legally operate in the British market). The Commission has confirmed that, due to such differences, it will not require operators to comply with RTS 8 from the date on which licences are issued or make changes to the auto-play functionality of games until further notice.

The Commission intends to consult on potential changes to RTS 8 and has indicated that changes considered during consultation could include changes to the maximum number of auto-play gambles permitted and the introduction of additional customer protection measures.

Please refer to the FAQ issued by the Commission for more details.

Update to remote licence application forms

The Commission has updated the Multi-Jurisdictional Business Form (MJBF) and Jurisdictional Rider to highlight the questions that an operator applying under transitional arrangements is expected to answer. Please refer to the guidance on the Commission’s website for further details (and to access the complete list of questions and screenshots of the online application service that has been published on the Commission’s website).

For any further information please contact Jason Chess  or Jason Fisher of this office.