UKGC reminds licensees about change of corporate control obligations

In a new and brief reminder to license holders and regulated gambling companies in the United Kingdom, the Gambling Commission cautioned companies that operate in the market to ensure that they are compliant with established best practices. The Gambling Commission specifically focused on the change of corporate control (CoCC) and explained that any changes in this would require the preapproval of the regulator.

The watchdog has already issued a statement cautioning operators that a previous mandate under which they were allowed to enact such changes to their CoCC will be officially changing come July 2022 but in the meantime discouraged any last-minute changes either.

Presently, the Gambling Commission states that every time an individual or a company enacts changes to CoCC, they would have to notify the regulator. Then, it would be up to the Gambling Commission to decide whether the CoCC meets its requirements. Should it not – the regulator may choose to revoke the person or company’s licenses. In addition, a person or entity who has changed CoCC but has not notified the commission within five weeks of doing so will automatically have their licenses revoked.

But come the new regulation, the onus will shift even more so on the companies seeking to enact the CoCC. For example, any submissions that are "inadequate or unreasonable" would be automatically revoked. This will be the case in those instances when the new controller is unknown to the Gambling Commission. Any new entity and related CoCC actions will have to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as well.

The Gambling Commission has urged stakeholders in the market to familiarize themselves with when such changes may be triggered and what needs to be done to make sure that brands remain compliant. The new recommendation coincides with an appeal from UK Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes who has appealed to stakeholders to exert self-regulation and ensure that they do not foul of the law.

He argued that operators may do more to ensure that their products and offerings are safe without the need to actually wait and see what the new White Paper would expect from them.

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