The Commission has announced its second raft of consultations, which are due to be released in the “coming weeks”. In the White Paper, the two below proposed changes were expected to be consulted on in 2023 and it seems as though the Commission will have just met this deadline. These will address the following:

• Socially Responsible Incentives – it is expected that the consultation will consult on proposals relating to incentives such as free bets and bonuses, to make sure they do not encourage harmful or excessive gambling.
• Player-centric tool Improvements – it is expected that the consultation will consult on proposals to empower consumers and make it easier for them to manage their gambling in ways that work for them, such as whether online deposit limits should be mandatory or opt-out (rather than opt-in)

The Commission also intends to consult on the following five new areas which it believes will “address other aspects of our regulation to make us fit for the future”. Most notable is the consultation on financial penalties, which aims “to bring greater clarity and transparency to the way we calculate such penalties”, as well as to “ensure that penalties are set at a level where the costs of non-compliance outweigh the costs of compliance”. No doubt, this will be a consultation that many operators will be particularly interested in as the industry has been canvassing for further clarity and transparency on how penalties are calculated for a very long time. The five new consultations are:

• transparency of protection of customer funds – it is expected that the consultation will consult on proposals to increase transparency to consumers if their funds are held by licensees that offer no protection in the event of insolvency.
• requirement to make annual financial contributions to Research, Prevention and Treatment – it is expected that the consultation will consult on removing the existing requirement to contribute to a set list of research, prevention, and treatment bodies in the context of Government proposals to introduce a statutory levy in the future.
• regulatory data – following on from the raft of queries that many operators received in relation to the regulatory returns, it is expected that the consultation will consult on increasing the frequency of reporting for many licensees from annual to quarterly.
• financial penalties – As set out above, the Commission is proposing changes to the way in which it calculates the penal element of financial penalties imposed following a breach. The purpose of the consultation is to bring greater clarity and transparency to the way in which the Commission calculates such penalties and will include measures to ensure that penalties are set at a level where the costs of non-compliance outweigh the costs of compliance.
• financial key event reporting – it is expected that the consultation will propose new reporting obligations intended to provide the Commission with relevant information with regards to operator’s finances and interests.

We await the publication of the consultations with bated breath!