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Online slot sites prepare for new Remote Customer Interaction rules

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From September 12th, new customer interaction rules are coming into effect for UK slot sites and online operators. They follow a string of recent measures that have geared up player protections and come ahead of the Government’s Gambling Review. The new rules have been added to the operator Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice and apply to all remote license holders, except lottery licenses. Let’s look at the new rules and what they mean for UK gambling brands.

What are the new rules?

The new rules, which can be located in the LCCP, section 3.4.3, are as follows:

1. Effective customer interaction systems and processes must be implemented to minimise the risk to players experiencing gambling harm. They must embody the fundamental principles of “identify, act and evaluate”.

2. Licensees must stay current and account for revised advice from the Commission on customer interaction.

3. Factors that increase vulnerability to gambling harms must be considered, and licensees must take timely action when indicators of harm are identified.

4. There must be effective systems to process and monitor customer activity to identify harms and potential harms from the point of account opening.

5. The range of indicators used to identify harms or potential harms must include:

    • customer spend
    • patterns of spend
    • time spent gambling
    • gambling behaviour indicators 
    • customer-led contact 
    • use of gambling management tools
    • account indicators.

6. The licensee is responsible for ensuring compliance, even if a third-party service is contracted.

7. Appropriate action must be taken promptly once harm has been identified.

8. The action must be tailored based on the identified number and level of harm indicators. This must include:

    • Tailored action at lower levels minimising future harm.
    • Increasing action where earlier stages have not had the required impact.
    • Strong action as the next step, rather than gradually increasing efforts.
    • Reducing or preventing marketing or the take-up of new bonuses where appropriate.
    • Ending the relationship where necessary. 

9. Marketing and the uptake of bonuses must be prevented in the case of strong indicators of harm.

10. In the case of strong harm indicators, processes should be automated to ensure timely assistance to players. In these cases, the licensee must manually review each case and allow the customer a chance to contest the measures.

11. Licensees must have processes to understand the impact of individual interactions on customers’ behaviour to evaluate if further action is needed.

12. All “reasonable steps” must be taken to evaluate the effectiveness of the licensees’ approach. The outcomes of such evaluation must be demonstrated to the Commission upon request.

13. Lastly, problem gambling rates must be taken into account by licensees as a minimum benchmark to ensure the minimum level of customer interactions is within the same rate.

What problems do they solve?

During the consultation and call for evidence, The UKGC found that while operators could interact with players experiencing gambling harm, they didn’t always opt to or, in many cases, were too slow, leading to damage. There have been clear cases in the past where operators have allowed gambling harms to occur due to non-action, such as the VIP scheme fiasco that allowed players to spend irresponsibly without proper account checks in place.

The new social responsibility code provisions aim to protect all players better and, in the case of severe harm indicators, as the interaction processes will be automated, remove the ability of operators not to act. In particular, the new rules will prevent:

  • unaffordable binge gambling
  • significant unaffordable losses over time
  • failure to identify consumers who are particularly financially vulnerable

It’s worth noting that the current rate of problem gambling in the UK is 0.2% (a drop from 0.4% in the preceding year), with moderate and low-risk rates also stable at 0.9% and 1.4%, respectively, according to the UKGC, 2022.

What effect are the new rules going to have?

The expectation is that the new rules will protect players from gambling harm, better identify problem gamblers and stop players who are showing indicators of damage from slipping through the net. 

For UK slot sites, this means implementing new systems for identifying potential harms based on indicators, inputting automatic and manual processing, and continually evaluating said measures. In many cases, these changes will likely be implemented using algorithms, with a team in charge of the manual implementation of interactions, account limitations, and the evidencing of actions as prescribed in the rules. This will come at a cost for online operators, which may also be twinned by a drop in revenue (albeit an arguably necessary drop due to increased player protections across the board) and makes the UK market less attractive to gambling brands.

In the broader context, it comes as yet another increase in the regulatory UK gambling environment, which some industry stakeholders, namely the Betting and Gaming Council and PwC report, have argued will lead to higher rates of offshore gambling, putting more players at greater risk rather than protecting them (evidence shows the size of the UK black market has doubled in the last two years, corresponding with greater regulation). The growth of the black market in tandem with increasing regulation has been evidenced in other European countries, like France and Norway. It also comes at a time when players are voicing concern about greater regulation, with a recent YouGov Poll recording two-thirds of UK bettors saying they would opt for offshore sites should the UK implement mandatory player budgets.

However, as this guidance specifically uses problem gambling indicators and measures behaviours carefully, prescribing measures based on the number of indicators displayed by players, as well as allowing them the chance to contest the actions (point 10 in the rules above), they cannot be considered as blanket measures that affect all players as the suggested player budgets could.

Carlo Santarelli

Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. Names Carlo Santarelli Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations

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Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. announced that Carlo Santarelli has been appointed Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations, a new position at the Company. Mr. Santarelli will begin his new position on August 18, 2025 and will report to GLPI President and Chief Operating Officer, Brandon Moore.

Mr. Santarelli brings over 25 years of Wall Street experience in Equity Research and Investment Banking to his new role and joins the Company from Deutsche Bank where he was Managing Director of Gaming & Lodging Equity Research. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Mr. Santarelli held similar positions at Bear Stearns, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo. He consistently ranked highly in Institutional Investor and other sell-side analyst research polls as a thought leader in the space, providing unique perspectives on industry events and trends with his data-driven approach and stock picking talent. Carlo Santarelli graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics in 2000.

Peter Carlino, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GLPI, said: “We’ve known and respected Carlo’s research work on the gaming, lodging and gaming REIT sectors for many years. Carlo brings to GLPI an in-depth knowledge of the industry and its participants, having experienced GLPI’s original formation of the gaming triple-net-REIT structure from a research analyst and capital markets perspective. We value his deep network of contacts among institutional investors, sell-side analysts and a wide range of gaming industry operators and we look forward to the value of his contributions.”

In his new role, Mr. Santarelli will work with Mr. Carlino and GLPI’s senior management to develop and evaluate growth opportunities and strategic relationships, and will oversee investor relations interactions.

The post Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. Names Carlo Santarelli Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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VIP Play Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer

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VIP Play, a technology-driven leader in interactive consumer engagement, announced that Jim Mackey, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will step down from his role, effective August 8, 2025.

The Company has initiated a transition process and is in the process of identifying a successor. Mackey will assist in an orderly transition over the coming weeks.

“We thank Jim for his contributions to the Company, particularly during a transformative period for our business. We remain focused on executing our strategic priorities, including financial visibility, operating efficiency, and delivering value to our stakeholders,” said Les Ottolenghi, CEO of VIP Play.

The post VIP Play Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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Esports Charts Becomes Official Viewership Analytics Partner of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025

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Esports Charts, the leading esports viewership analytics provider, has partnered with StarLadder, a pioneering tournament organiser. The Budapest Major 2025 marks a highly anticipated comeback for StarLadder, as it is their first Counter-Strike Major since 2019 and a significant return to the top-tier esports arena.

As the official analytics partner of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, Esports Charts will provide comprehensive, real-time audience data and insights throughout the event. This will empower organisers, teams, sponsors and fans with unparalleled transparency and a deeper understanding of the tournament’s global reach.

Artyom Odintsov, Co-founder and CEO of Esports Charts, said: “We are thrilled and proud to provide viewership analytics for StarLadder for the Budapest Major 2025. Since both Esports Charts and StarLadder are Ukraine-born companies, we share similar values and deal with similar challenges, which brings us even closer.

“It’s genuinely exciting to follow how viewership will develop at this Major. But knowing the expertise, drive, and passion that the organizers are bringing, I have no doubt we’ll witness some incredible things happen in Budapest.

“Esports Charts has always been driven by a mission to provide the esports community with accurate, actionable data, and we look forward to showcasing the impact and audience engagement of this world-class event.”

StarLadder has been a driving force in global esports for almost 15 years now, since hosting its first tournaments in 2011. Renowned for its innovation and reliability, the company has organised some of the industry’s most iconic events. These include the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019, which accumulated over 44 million hours watched and remains in the top 10 CS events by this metric, and the legendary StarSeries tournaments which started back in 2012.

Viacheslav Shcherbakov, Sales and Partnerships at StarLadder, said: “We’ve been working with Esports Charts since their founding and have always valued their professionalism and integrity. In a market where reliable data is essential, Esports Charts provides honest, transparent numbers, exactly the kind of insights sponsors and stakeholders rely on when assessing the potential reach of a World Championship event.

“We’re confident that this partnership will result in a high-quality analysis of our tournament’s performance and the audience data we’ll report to our partners. It’s a collaboration built on trust, shared values, and a deep understanding of what it takes to elevate esports to the next level.”

The Starladder Budapest Major 2025 will be held from November 24 to December 14 in Budapest, Hungary. The event will bring together the world’s top 32 Counter-Strike 2 teams to compete for a $1.25 million prize pool and one of the most prestigious titles in esports.

The post Esports Charts Becomes Official Viewership Analytics Partner of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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