On 30 July 2020, the Gambling Commission published its response to a consultation carried out between 26 February 2020 and 20 May 2020 on proposals to amend licence conditions relating to the display of licensed status on screens from which customers can access remote gambling activities such as websites and mobile apps.

The consultation response confirms that changes will be made to licence conditions 8.1.1 and 8.1.2 and a new licence condition 8.1.3 will be introduced as follows:

Licence condition 8.1.1

All remote casino, bingo and betting licences other than ancillary, host, remote betting intermediary (trading room only), remote general betting (limited) and remote general betting (standard) (remote platform) licences

1. Licensees providing facilities for remote gambling must display on every screen from which customers are able to access gambling facilities provided in reliance on this licence:
   • a statement that they are licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission;
   • their account number; and
   • a link (which will be supplied by the Commission) to their current licensed status as recorded on the Commission’s website.
2. Such statement, account number and link must be in the format, provided by the means, and contain the information from time to time specified by the Commission in its technical standards applicable to the kind of facilities for gambling provided in accordance with this licence or otherwise notified to licensees for the purposes of this condition.
3. Licensees may also display on screens accessible from Great Britain information about licences or other permissions they hold from regulators in, or by virtue of the laws of, jurisdictions outside Great Britain provided it is made plain on those screens that the licensee provides facilities for gambling to persons in Great Britain in reliance on their Gambling Commission licence(s).

Licence condition 8.1.2

All gaming machine technical, gambling software and host licences

1. Licensees offering the supply of gaming machines or gambling software on websites must:
   • display the following information on the first page of the website which offers gaming machines or gambling software in reliance on the licence:
     • a statement that they are licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission;
     • their account number; and
     • a link (which will be supplied by the Commission) to their current licensed status as recorded on the Commission’s website.
   • display at least the information at a above on each page of the website which offers gaming machines or gambling software in reliance on the licence; and
   • where they offer on pages of, or by means of a link from, their website, the supply of gaming machines or gambling software which are not provided in reliance on their licence, clearly distinguish those products which are regulated by the Commission from those which are not.
2. Such statement, account number and link must be in the format, provided by the means, and contain the information from time to time specified by the Commission in its technical standards applicable to the kind of facilities for gambling provided in accordance with this licence or otherwise notified to licensees for the purposes of this condition.

Licence condition 8.1.3

All lottery operating licences issued to non-commercial societies, local authorities and external lottery managers

1. Licensees offering the supply of lotteries on websites or mobile applications must display on every screen from which customers are able to access lottery products provided in reliance of this licence:
   • a statement that they are licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission;
   • their account number; and
   • a link (which will be supplied by the Commission) to their current licensed status as recorded on the Commission’s website.
2. Such statement, account number and link must be in the format, provided by the means, and contain the information from time to time specified by the Commission

The Gambling Commission has introduced these changes to:

1. standardise the type of information that must be displayed on B2C and B2B websites and mobile applications about an operator’s licensed status; and
2. extend the requirements to non-commercial societies, local authorities and external lottery managers offering access to lottery products online.

The changes also align with the Gambling Commission’s ongoing work to redesign its public registers of licensed operators, personal licence holders and premises.

The consultation response confirms that an up-to-date link to its public register will be provided to each licensee. Additionally, the form and manner of the display requirements “will be published before, or alongside, the issuing of new links to [the Gambling Commission’s] public register”.

The Gambling Commission has further confirmed that “when the new links are issued, [the Gambling Commission] will allow licensees three months to make the required changes to their websites and mobile applications. Specific dates will be in the letters by which [the Gambling Commission] issue the new links to the public register”.

We recommend that all remote licensees read the consultation response and become familiar with the new display requirements which are due to come into effect on 31 October 2020.