UKGC Can't Track Crime Probes
Regulator says it's too costly to retrieve data on police investigations into gambling accounts, citing a lack of centralised records.
A Freedom of Information request has revealed the UK Gambling Commission cannot quantify how many times law enforcement agencies have investigated customer accounts. The regulator cited excessive costs and the lack of a central database, raising questions about its oversight of crime in gambling.
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UKGC Unable to Quantify Law Enforcement Contacts
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is unable to provide data on the number of times it has been notified about law enforcement investigations into customer gambling accounts. The regulator cited excessive costs and a lack of centralised data storage as the reason for withholding the information.
The request, dated 25 July 2023, sought to understand the scale of potential criminal activity flowing through licensed gambling operators. It asked for the total number of contacts from law enforcement agencies—such as the Police, Crown Prosecution Service, and HMRC—concerning customer accounts over the last three financial years.
In its response, the UKGC confirmed it holds the requested information but refused to provide it, invoking Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. This exemption allows public bodies to refuse requests where the cost of retrieving the information would exceed £450, or 18 hours of staff time.
Key Information Withheld
The regulator stated that the data is "not stored in a central location and requires a manual review across all Gambling Commission information storage areas." This suggests there is no single, easily accessible database for tracking a critical aspect of its primary licensing objective: preventing gambling from being a source of crime.
Specifically, the FOI request asked the Commission to provide figures on:
- The number of unique contacts from law enforcement about customer accounts.
- The number of reported criminal investigations involving customer accounts.
- An estimate of customer accounts flagged for potential links to criminal proceeds.
- An estimate of the percentage of annual Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) potentially linked to the proceeds of crime.
All requests for specific figures were refused under the cost exemption. The Commission also declined to answer questions about its own assessment of its reporting frameworks, stating the FOIA does not require public authorities to provide opinions.
What This Means for Consumers
The UKGC's inability to easily access and quantify this data raises significant questions about regulatory oversight. One of the Commission's three core statutory duties is to prevent gambling from being associated with crime or disorder. Without a clear, centralised view of how often law enforcement is investigating gambling accounts, it is difficult to assess the scale of the problem or the effectiveness of the measures in place to combat it.
For consumers, this lack of transparency means there is no publicly available data on the prevalence of criminal funds being processed by UK-licensed operators. The response indicates a potential blind spot for the regulator, making it harder for stakeholders to verify that the industry is being held to account for its anti-crime responsibilities.