Gambling Companies Told to Remove Unnecessary Withdrawal Terms

Over the last year, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) have been cracking down on the gambling sector, which has resulted in new rules for promotions, child-friendly marketing, advertising come-ons and anti-money laundering obligations…

… The CMA announced in the Spring, that it had already launched enforcement action with gambling operators who subject customers to unfair obstacles when it comes to cashing out winnings. The obstacles in the spotlight pertain to daily, weekly or monthly withdrawal limits, plus very short timescales in which customers had to respond to identification checks…

Only Two Have Obliged:

So far, only two gambling operators have heeded the CMA’s warning, these are: Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play. The two companies have agreed to allow customers to withdraw funds in stages over a longer period of time and they will stop removing funds from accounts which could be labelled as ‘dormant.’

The CMA has warned other gambling operators to adopt similar policies, or it will be facing consequences. Of the two companies, Progress Play has agreed to look at the way they adopt ID responses, to allow customers to respond over a longer period of time. A spokesperson for the CMA said: “You cannot justify confiscating someone’s money simply because they do not provide information within a specific time frame.”

George Lusty, the senior director at the CMA stated that the two operators may be the first to commit to the new safeguards, “but we expect companies across the sector to follow suit.”

Gambling companies have until October 31st to respect the new regulatory environment, or they will be faced with higher financial penalties.