What Will A New Gambling Ombudsman Look Like, What Will It Do?

The gambling industry is one that has long been controlled by the people offering the service rather than some overarching figure who looks any what is going on in an independent manner. Whilst the United Kingdom Gambling Commission exists, there are many who are critical of it and don’t believe that it does enough to curb the influence of the gambling companies.

As a result, there is a desire from some for a gambling ombudsman to be created to take control of the industry in an independent ands impartial manner. The question is, what would it look like?

There is no straightforward answer to that sort of question, nor to the question of what it would do. We can look at other ombudsman operations to see how it is that they work to get some idea of what one for gambling industry might look like, but other than that there is no easy way to talk about a new gambling ombudsman.

All we do know is that there are many aspects of the current system that a lot of people don’t think are working, so there is an obvious need to try to make some sort of changes for the good of the future of the gambling industry as a whole.

What Is An Ombudsman?

First things first, it is important to look at what an ombudsman is as a general concept before we begin to look at the specifics of a gambling ombudsman. An ombudsman is an independent and impartial authority or official appointed to investigate and address complaints or grievances from individuals or organisations against government agencies, companies or other entities. The term ‘ombudsman’ comes from the Swedish word ‘ombuds,’ which means representative or agent. The primary role of an ombudsman is to ensure fairness, accountability and transparency in the functioning of institutions or organisations.

They act as an intermediary between complainants and the entity being complained about, striving to resolve disputes and rectify any issues. The specific responsibilities of an ombudsman will vary depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the organisation that they serve. Generally, their functions include the following:

• Receiving and investigating complaints: Ombudsmen receive complaints from individuals or groups who believe they have been treated unfairly or have encountered problems with the organisation they are dealing with.
• Mediation and resolution: Ombudsmen work to find fair and equitable solutions to disputes between parties and help resolve conflicts through negotiation and mediation.
• Providing information and guidance: Ombudsmen offer information about rights, procedures and policies to complainants and provide guidance on the appropriate course of action.
• Conducting impartial investigations: Ombudsmen have the authority to conduct independent investigations into complaints and concerns raised by individuals or groups.
• Promoting improvements and change: Ombudsmen often use their findings to recommend changes to policies, procedures or practices within the organisation to prevent similar issues in the future.
• Maintaining confidentiality: Ombudsmen typically ensure the confidentiality of the information provided by complainants, except where disclosure is required by law or if there is an imminent risk of harm.

In short, ombudsmen play a crucial role in upholding accountability, protecting individual rights and fostering better relationships between the public and private sectors. Their impartiality and independence are essential to ensuring a fair and just society.

What Is The Problem With The UKGC?

Given the topic is about what a new ombudsman might look like, it is entirely fair to as what is wrong with the Gambling Commission as it currently is. The UKGC is clear that it is ‘a regulator and not an ombudsman,’ which it is important to point out from the off. It does tell you how you can make complaints ands the process that you can take should you feel as though you have been wronged, but obviously that is not the same as we have said an ombudsman looks to do. In fact, the gambling industry does not currently have an ombudsman, which is why the calls to create one are important.

The gambling industry isn’t the only major industry in the country that doesn’t have an ombudsman. There are many others that also operate without such a process in place, so gambling isn’t unique in that sense. It is also important to point out that there are methods of redress in place for those that engage in gambling as a pastime, so it isn’t as if it’s like the Wild West.

The Independent Betting Adjudication is one such possible method of redress, for example. You can also get in touch with the Advertising Standards Authority if you feel that a company is mis-selling what they offer.

The White Paper

After a period of development that lasted for 28 months and spanned three Prime Ministers, the same number of Secretary of States and six junior Ministers, the government’s white paper on the Gambling Act was eventually released.

It covered a wealth of different topics related to the gambling industry, but one of the key things that was looked at by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was the creation of a body that would be responsible for looking at customer disputes around the gambling industry. It was news that was welcomed by most parts of the industry, including reformists and even the Betting & Gaming Council.

The need for an ombudsman was felt to be clear when it was revealed that around 2,000 customer complaints a year were submitted to an Alternate Despite Resolution provider. The idea isn’t just to give customers a specific organisation to turn to when they have issues, but also for that body to have the ability to deal with companies that don’t offer sufficient cooperation when investigated.

DCMS said, “We expect all operators to take steps to offer appropriate redress to customers where needed and if the ombudsman does not attract sufficient cooperation or deliver the protections as we expect, we will legislate to put its position beyond doubt.”

What An Ombudsman Might Look Like

The government’s white paper makes clear that any ombudsman for the gambling industry must be ‘operationally independent’ of the gambling industry as a whole, as well as having credibility in the eyes of customers.

There was a suggestion that it could be one of the current ADR providers that is adapted to become the ombudsman, with two of them already being members of the Ombudsman Association. This would be good because it would mean that no primary legislation would be required in order to turn it into an ombudsman instead of just being an ADR service.

Of course, as a non-statutory body, the ombudsman’s decisions would not be binding for operators. As a result, there is a desire from the government for the Betting & Gaming Council to play a role in helping to organise the ombudsman and provide it with the resources that it requires to be a success.

For the gambling industry itself, it makes sense to work to make sure that any ombudsman created by the white paper should be a success, given the fact that there is the threat of a statutory ombudsman being created should it not work out in the way the government hopes.

IBAS As The Ombudsman?

In July of 2022, the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, one of the Alternative Dispute Resolution services mentioned elsewhere, announced that it was planning to change its service in order to become the ombudsman.

IBAS is one of eight services that have received government approval, whilst there are other operations working outside the United Kingdom in dispute resolution internationally. Not only that, but other ombudsmen in different sectors could also consider shifting focus to the gambling industry, which is why IBAS looked to get ahead of the curve in announcing their decision to become an ombudsman.

At the time that the organisation made the announcement, it had been operating in the area of Alternative Dispute Resolutions for 25 years, making it uniquely placed to be able to switch focus into become an ombudsman. Over that time, the organisation dealt with tens of thousands of complaints and worked closely with the gambling industry for satisfactory outcomes for all parties.

Given the fact that a brand new body would need to effectively replicate a lot of what IBAS already do as well as gain the trust that IBAS already has, it does make sense for the body to make the move.

What Would A Gambling Ombudsman Actually Do?

It isn’t easy to tell exactly what a gambling ombudsman would do, largely because one doesn’t currently exist. Whilst we can look generally at certain aspects of a possible gambling ombudsman’s duties, the reality is that each industry is different and the sorts of things that an ombudsman would need to deal with will differ depending on what service they offer in the first place.

At the moment, someone who has some sort of dispute with any part of the gambling industry will turn to an Alternative Dispute Resolution service to help them resolve said issue.

The first thing that a gambling ombudsman would do would be to take on those complaints. As things currently stand, someone who has been allowed to gambling too much money can’t turn to the likes of the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, instead being required to take such complaints to the Gambling Commission itself.

Any ombudsman would take that sort of complaint off the plate of the UKGC. The job of the ombudsman is, in essence, to operate as an independent judge and to listen to the arguments from all sides, view the accompanying evidence and then reach a conclusion.

A Good Thing For The Industry?

An obvious question to ask is whether or not an ombudsman would actually be good for the gambling industry as a whole. This, of course, is all but impossible a question to answer. That being said, there are already ADRs working in the industry, so a system for making complaints already exists.

The ombudsman would effectively be a furtherance of the same system, perhaps leaning slightly more on the side of the complainant rather than the industry as a whole. There is a feeling from some that there is a need to meet impossible criteria as things currently stand.

The regulation of the industry would remain the responsibility of the UKGC, with the ombudsman looking at the way that complaints are made and whether or not the system can be improved. Given the potential changes to the industry that are likely to be brought in by the white paper and the likely gambling reform that will follow, it is important for a good complaints resolution system to be in place.

Affordability checks are likely to be introduced, for example, which would give gambling firms the ability to reject a customer as ‘unsuitable’ without needing to show why, for example. An ombudsman might be able to change that.

Some Think It’s Crucial

Whilst there is a general feeling within the industry that a gambling ombudsman would be a good thing, it is fair to say that there are those that think that it is more than necessary.

Although what an ombudsman would offer and what IBAS currently do aren’t exactly totally different from one another, the simply fact of the matter is that the current Gambling Act was signed into law in 2005. When you consider the fact that the iPhone didn’t even launch until 2007, you can see how much the world has changed since then and the extent to which laws around gambling have remained analogues whilst everything else has gone digital.

It tells you something that one of the loudest voices calling for the introduction of an ombudsman is the Betting & Gaming Council. They represent casinos, betting shops and bookmakers, so that they are keen for an ombudsman to be introduced speaks volumes.

Yes, IBAS and the likes already do a lot of the things that such a service would do, but not everyone is happy with what the ADRs offer, so moving to a totally different way to operate is something that nearly everyone associated with gambling, on all sides of the divide, can very much get on board with.