What’s more concerning to Flutter and the gaming industry than the increased competition in the US and Aussie markets is the situation in the UK. Everyone is waiting to see what the government has to say in its long-awaited gambling reform white paper.
The publication and the associated new gambling laws are already overdue, and it still isn’t clear when a response may come. Flutter proactively implemented responsible gambling measures. It based its decision on what most insiders expect the government to lay out in the reform, even though these measures hurt its bottom line.
Flutter CEO Peter Jackson believes the move was the right one, given what the industry knows about the UK’s approach to gambling. He is confident the upcoming white paper will “level the playing field.” It should also lead to other operators implementing measures similar to those put in place by the company he leads.
Not everyone is optimistic that the changes are for the best. The Betting and Gaming Council has cautioned that “naive changes” will cause the UK’s gaming market to decline.
It reiterated this week the results of a recent study that shows that the UK problem gambling rate is just 0.2% – half of what it was a year ago – as the market becomes more restrictive. However, the use of black market sites because of the restrictions has doubled. That should force UK officials to consider how they view gambling reforms, but probably won’t be enough for them to consider a common-sense approach.
The publication and the associated new gambling laws are already overdue, and it still isn’t clear when a response may come. Flutter proactively implemented responsible gambling measures. It based its decision on what most insiders expect the government to lay out in the reform, even though these measures hurt its bottom line.
Flutter CEO Peter Jackson believes the move was the right one, given what the industry knows about the UK’s approach to gambling. He is confident the upcoming white paper will “level the playing field.” It should also lead to other operators implementing measures similar to those put in place by the company he leads.
Not everyone is optimistic that the changes are for the best. The Betting and Gaming Council has cautioned that “naive changes” will cause the UK’s gaming market to decline.
It reiterated this week the results of a recent study that shows that the UK problem gambling rate is just 0.2% – half of what it was a year ago – as the market becomes more restrictive. However, the use of black market sites because of the restrictions has doubled. That should force UK officials to consider how they view gambling reforms, but probably won’t be enough for them to consider a common-sense approach.