UK Gambling Commission ‘concern’ on social

Gambling Commission chairman Phil Graf has admitted that the UK regulator is concerned about some aspects of social gaming and has called on the sector to use the information it collects on its players to protect against any risks.
Speaking at the World Regulatory Forum earlier this month, Graf commented: “While we have always maintained that we have no desire to regulate any more than we have to, the Commission still has some concerns about the potential risks posed to players here. In the same way that I am calling on the gambling industry, we have asked the social gaming industry to use their player data to further explore the potential risks to players.”
However Graf said that progress in collecting evidence in this area has been slower than the Commission had hoped but believed steps are being made in the right direction.
Graf also welcomed the guidelines and principles just published by the Office of Fair Trading for the freemium products and International Social Games Association (ISGA) efforts to promote responsible business practices. He commented: “These are exactly the sort of measures that we think are potentially capable of managing the potential risks in social gaming without the need to extend gambling regulation any further.”