UK government confirms Illegal Gambling Taskforce goals and membership
The new UK Illegal Gambling Taskforce will have subgroups focusing on three priority areas.
UK.- The UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has clarified more details on its new Illegal Gambling Taskforce. It’s published new terms of reference setting out the body’s objectives and membership and norms for meetings.
The document states that the Illegal Gambling Taskforce will aim to identify solutions and provide recommendations on reducing the negative impacts of specific challenges relating to illegal gambling. Three subgroups will be established to address three key areas: preventing or reducing payments from and to illegal gambling operators, tackling online advertising of illegal gambling, improving cross-agency collaboration and enforcement work regarding both illegal remote and land-based gambling.
These subgroups will inform the taskforce of progress and of any recommendations. It will do this by delivering a programme of work. The taskforce will initially run for 12 months, after which its remit and membership will be reviewed and renewed if necessary.
The taskforce will be chaired by Baroness Fiona Twycross, the Minister for Museums, Heritage and Gambling. Membership will comprise a mix of experts and industry participants from the gambling sector, tech platforms and payment providers, the Gambling Commission and other regulators, government departments, and trade bodies. Names of specific organisations and individuals that are members will not be published.
The DCMS’s Director of Sport and Gambling will act as co-chair, and other relevant stakeholders may be invited by the government to take part on specific agenda items or in the subgroups, which may include members from outside the taskforce membership.
Industry members will support and deliver non-legislative solutions regarding advertising and payment services on behalf of their own organisations and through facilitating action from industry.
Frequency of meetings
The full taskforce will meet at least twice a year while the subgroups will be responsible for determining the frequency of their meetings, with the recommendation to meet at least on a quarterly basis in order to inform the twice yearly taskforce meetings.
The terms stress that it will not be the role of the taskforce to direct or intervene in operational matters performed by the Gambling Commission. That said, its role and remit may evolve as priorities and challenges are identified by members. Any changes will be identified and agreed by the taskforce in conjunction with the Minister, Deputy Chair and Secretariat and the terms of reference will be amended if necessary.
Meanwhile, the Gambling Commission is seeking a head of illegal markets. The regulator has also said that a freshly secured £26m in additional government funding over the next three years will allow it to put a new focus on illegal land-based gambling in the UK.
https://focusgn.com/uk-government-confirms-illegal-gambling-taskforce-goals-and-membership