Monday, 16 March 2020

UK Gambling Commission Approves BetBlocker As Gambling Charity

BetBlocker UK

BetBlocker has finally been approved as an official gambling charity.

The UK Gambling Commission this week approved BetBlocker as a charity. The firm’s main mission is to help prevent problem gambling via its free app which allows users to ban all gambling websites across multiple devices.

BetBlocker is working with over 12,000 gambling operators to implement the service and allows users to ban themselves from 24 hours up to a maximum of five years. BetBlockers prides itself on its flexibility, allowing customers to manage their gambling activity.

According to reports, BetBlocker will is available on several devices including Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems. It’s also available on Apple Macs, Linux and Fire OS platforms too, allowing anyone to use the service.

The charity was announced last year after it registered with Scotland’s charity regulator OSCR in August 2019. It is now one of six official gambling charities recognised by the UK Gambling Commission.

A press statement from BetBlocker about the firm reads: “Gambling operators, other organisations, and even the general public can now donate to BetBlocker.org in order to fund its activities.

“Donations from UKGC licenses gambling operators can also be counted towards the license required RET donations. This is especially significant as the regulator has been sign-posting for some time the possibility that their licenses may soon be required to offer a free license to a blocking software to any self-excluding player.”

It continues: “As BetBlocker is currently the only free blocking software, by donating to the charity the generosity shown by the operator can be reciprocated by ensuring that a free blocking software remains available should the regulator choose to make this a license requirement. In this manner, donating to BetBlocker may actually save operators money in the long-run.”

Since it’s official launch, BetBlocker has already received considerable praise and donations from various firms including game developer Green Tube and casino operator L&L Europe.

Crackdown On Problem Gambling

The move comes as part of the UK Gambling Commission’s mission on tackling problem gambling in the UK. Earlier this year, the Commission announced that gambling with credit cards would be prohibited from April 2020.

Meanwhile, the firm has been working to suspend and fine casino operators that fail to follow the Commission’s license guidelines and those the Commission believes are no longer fir to offer gambling services to residents in the UK.

Last week, we reported that Betway was fined a record-breaking £11.6 million by the UK Gambling Commission for multiple failings regarding high-spending customers and money laundering.

What’s more, the UK Gambling Commission also suspended Triplebet’s operating license after coming to the conclusion that the operator was no longer fit to offer gambling services. The firm also suspended Stakers’ betting license for similar reasons.

Addison Global’s license was suspended too after it was discovered that the firm was struggling to pay off outstanding debts to affiliates. Following its license suspension, Addison Global and its MoPlay website were declared insolvent.