If you’re a regular user of a website or mobile application for gambling, whether that’s sports betting, casino, bingo or lotto, you may be unaware of the regulation that the companies behind the websites must adhere to.
However, the regulation is there to protect you, the consumer. And since March 2015, there has been a new regulation in play – the Remote Gambling Software License.
So what is it and what does it mean for you?
What is the Remote Gambling Software License?
The UK Gambling Commission stated, when announcing this regulation that,
“…all gambling software used by the licensee must have been manufactured by the holder of a Gambling Software Operating License.”
Any website or app allowing gambling in the UK must be built by a license holder. So if gambling operators outsource the development of their apps and websites, it must be to a licensed company.
Andrew Daniels, Managing Director of Degree 53, explains what this means for the licensed development agency:
“At Degree 53, we’ve been developing gambling websites and mobile apps since long before it was necessary to hold this license. So, naturally, when this was announced, we acquired the license. This means that us, as the developers, have to adhere to an extensive list of technical standards. And we also have to comply with ISO 27001:2013, which relates to information security, which resulted in us tightening up our internal security processes.”
What does this mean for you?
So, what does this actually mean for you as the consumer using these apps and websites?
- The websites and mobile applications you use should be incredibly secure
- You should have easy access to your transaction history and account information
- The websites and apps should adhere to “responsible product design”
- There should be transparency about how the outcome of your bet is determined
In other words, this license is intended to ensure that you use fairer websites and apps with easy access to account information and transaction history and with high standards of security.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how this license protects you, take a look at the complete technical standards.