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RacingBetter News
Monday 29th January 2018
   
Gambling Law in the UK and the UK Gambling Commission

In comparison to other countries, gambling law in UK is quite straightforward and easy to understand. There are some legislations which are a bit complicated to be comprehended by a layman, but these relate to the companies that provide gambling services rather than having an impact on an individual player. So if you are just a player then you should not worry about them. As far as online gambling in UK is concerned, it is legal and is regulated by UK Gambling Commission.

UK Gambling Commission

UK Gambling Commission is an “executive non-departmental public body” answerable to the government of the United Kingdom. This body is responsible for supervision and regulation of all types of gambling. It should be noted that the jurisdiction of this commission does not extend to Northern Ireland. UK Gambling commission controls and supervises arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, slot machine games and lotteries. It also amalgamated National Lottery Commission in 2013 and from that day UK Gambling Commission is also regulating the National Lottery.

Even though this commission controls majority of the aspects related with gambling but it is not responsible for issuing permissions to bookmakers and spread betting operators. These two aspects are controlled by the local authorities of England, Scotland & Wales and Financial Conduct Authority respectively.

Purview of Gambling Laws in UK

As mentioned earlier in this article, the UK Gambling Commission controls all the major aspects of gambling which also include internet/online and telephony based gaming. Under the terms specified in Gambling Act of 2005, this commission ensures that all the operators of gambling including both land based and online gambling adhere to the standards envisioned in this act. The UK Gambling Commission not only issues licenses to the gaming operators, it also takes punitive actions against gambling operators who cross the line, in the form of fines and revocation of license.

The objectives of UK Gambling Commission include the following.

  • Prevention of gambling becoming a source of crime or disorder.
  • Prevention of gambling being associated with any type of crime.
  • Prevention of gambling being used to support any type of crime.
  • To ensure free and fair gambling.
  • To prevent underage gambling.
  • To prevent vulnerable persons to be harmed or exploited by the gambling operators.

How Gambling Laws Affect Players

If you are a resident of UK with age of 18 or above then it is legal for you to participate in any sort of gambling. A player fulfilling these two requisites can also participate in real money games provided by the online casinos. Being a legal player, there are many sites and land based casinos which can provide you with their services. As compared with other countries, the gambling law of UK is quite liberal and the only thing which needs to be addressed by the player is to decide which site or casino should be considered for participating in such activities.

As online gambling is also controlled by UK Gambling Commission, this ensures that fair services are provided by the online operators. While participating in gambling options provided by licensed online sites you can be rest assured that your money is not going to be whittled away by any of the unscrupulous elements.

The other thing which makes UK a heaven for gamblers/betting enthusiasts is the fact that winnings made by gambling are not a part of the taxable income in this country.

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