Betting firms may be forced to provide free self-exclusion tools

Gambling companies could be forced to provide customers free of charge with software blocking them from betting, under proposals to be considered by the industry regulator.

The Gambling Commission has launched a call for evidence looking at ways to better protect vulnerable people and problem gamblers by changing the industry’s code of practice, after identifying weaknesses.

Proposals for consideration include forcing bookmakers and online casinos to fund tools that allow customers to lock themselves out of gambling altogether, building on nascent moves to tighten up self-exclusion programmes.

It comes amid a broader tightening of regulations on the industry, including stronger age verification checks and new rules introduced by the Advertising Standards Authority to stop the commercial targeting of children.

“The proposed changes are intended to accelerate progress in protecting consumers and preventing them from experiencing gambling-related harm,” said Paul Hope, the Gambling Commission’s executive director.

“Making gambling fairer and safer is at the heart of how we regulate, and better customer interaction […] and facilitating readily available blocking software are all part of this.”

Matt Zarb-Cousin, a gambling campaigner who is also a director of blocking software firm Gamban, said: “People who self-exclude have already experienced a great deal of harm, and in many cases have lost all the money they have access to.

“So at an absolute minimum they should be prevented from gambling and assisted with the cost of measures designed to do that, such as blocking software.”

The commission is also seeking opinions on how to improve customer interaction, to make sure that gambling company employees are intervening where they see signs of problem gambling.

The Guardian revealed this month that Ladbrokes staff are given incentives to boost the amount that customers feed into slot machines and to sign them up to online accounts. The revelations prompted concern among MPs and campaigners about a potential conflict of interest, where staff are told to step in to prevent problem gambling but also have an incentive to encourage customers to gamble as much as possible.

The commission referred to its own recent report, which it said uncovered failures to interact with customers who were displaying clear signs of harm and cases where there was no evidence of any customer interaction.

It will also consider whether to change the way disputes between a customer and a gambling company are resolved, when the customer has a complaint about the outcome of a bet. This could include forcing gambling firms to use independent dispute resolution bodies that have met a standard set by the commission.