A ruling by the UK Court of Appeal has given the UK Gambling Commission the ability to reject license applications, even if the submitting party has fulfilled all the technical requirements of the license. The Commission may refuse such licenses if they are deemed to be inconsistent with the commission’s objectives.
This is good news for bingo fans, as it at least in part refers to responsible gaming. Should a site with a poor reputation wish to open and have all the legal matters covered, they can still be rejected if there’s concern within the UKCG.
The ruling took place following a legal challenge by Greene King, a large UK pub chain which previously applied for a bingo license in order to run games in their 3,000 pubs. The license was refused by the UKCG on the grounds that Greene King’s business model was liable to undermine the Commission’s objectives. Greene King appealed this decision, but the Court of Appeal supported the UK Gambling Commission in the matter. The ruling stated that the UKGC was entitled to consider and find the proposed operation of that licence to be inconsistent with the licensing objective and refuse that licence accordingly.
Helen Venn, UK Gambling Commission Programme Director said: “We welcome the Upper Tribunal’s decision, which clarifies the Commission’s powers. In our view commercial betting, gaming and bingo and any associated high stakes and prize machines, should only be provided in separate premises licensed for that specific purpose – premises that adults make a deliberate choice to visit in order to gamble.”
This kind of ruling allows the UKGC to put matters such as responsible gaming and protection of underage gamblers ahead of other concerns so that it is not just rubber-stamping any new site or bingo venture which appears.
definitely a good signal from the UKGC. There must be set of standards that are all bingo sites following. Especially when it comes to withdrawals processing times, legit games, withdrawal limits and especially player protection.