GAMBLING FIRMS REMOVE CASH WITHDRAWAL RESTRICTIONS AFTER CMA ACTION

Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play have agreed to remove unfair terms regarding players’ withdrawing their own money, after action from the CMA in the UK.

In a further sign that UK authorities are clamping down on questionable practices in the gambling industry, two online gambling firms must now make it easier and fairer for players to withdraw their cash.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) acted against Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play, after investigating terms and conditions that prevented players from withdrawing their own money in one go. Both firms have now agreed to remove the offending terms and conditions.

The specific terms meant that players at both Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play could be forced to withdraw their money in installments, over a specified extended period – the effect of which was to encourage players to continue gambling instead of making a withdrawal.

In addition, the companies also stated that they will stop using other terms which allowed them to confiscate money from players’ accounts if they had not logged-in for a specified amount of time. Progress Play has also said they will no longer confiscate players’ money if they fail to meet their identity check rules in the given time frame.

The CMA is working alongside the UK Gambling Commission to improve terms and conditions across the industry, and to make sure gambling firms are not breaking consumer protection laws.

Though the specific action so far has involved just two companies, the Gambling Commission has made it clear that they fully expect companies across the gaming and gambling sectors to follow the same standards – stating that firms failing to make necessary changes to their terms could face regulatory action.

George Lusty, Senior Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA, said: “People choosing to gamble online should be able to walk away with their own money whenever they want to. Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play are the first to commit to scrap their unfair withdrawal rules, but we expect companies across the sector to follow suit so no-one gets caught out with unfair terms and conditions when gambling online.”

Whilst Paul Hope, Executive Director, Gambling Commission commented: “We support the outcome of the CMA’s investigation, and we’re pleased that both of the operators involved have committed to making changes that will make it fairer and simpler for customers to withdraw funds from their online gambling accounts.

“Gambling firms should not be placing unreasonable restrictions on when and how consumers can take money out of their accounts. We now expect all online operators to review the findings published by the CMA today and ensure they update their own practices.”

As has been noted before, in terms of fairness and consumer protection, the UK online gambling industry is not being particularly singled-out, but rather just being held to the same standards as any other industry. The real surprise is that the online gambling sector in the UK has been allowed to get away with such poor practices for so long.

Increasing consumer protection and service standards actually provides UK facing operators with a real opportunity to build trust and loyalty with customers and foster sustainable long-term growth and revenue.