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Monzo CEO addresses UK gambling regulations in letter to government
Monzo‘s new chief executive of digital bank TS Anil has sent a letter, which has been published, to the British government. The letter states that the regulations on responsible gambling need to be stricter on the country’s providers and licenced operators.
The UK has been thoroughly reviewing the 2005 Gambling Act, and now is a time where social responsibility is more important than ever, so one can say that this letter came at the perfect time.
The company’s chief executive asks Nigel Huddleston, the UK Sports Minister currently leading the Gambling Act review, to render ‘the process of self-exclusion increasingly seamless and efficient covering all gambling operators and businesses that transact with the sector’.
This specific process would mean that gambling companies will have to give their bank details, which will ultimately involve the ‘universal blocking of transactions’ for the customers that have asked for self-exclusion.
In the letter, Anil mentions:
We believe the government should take the opportunity afforded by the Gambling Act review to make sure every consumer in the UK can access these blocks, regardless of who they bank with. These tools are simple to build, proven to work, and will help protect hundreds of thousands of people. Ultimately, the Gambling Act review offers a unique opportunity to create a world-leading self-exclusion framework in the UK to reduce gambling harms, and help consumers gain control of their finances. The rise in online gambling, and new ways to pay, requires a robust response from the government.
Monzo has been operating its gambling-block service for about 3 years now, and it was mentioned in the company’s 2019 report that it has had more than 250,000 users asking it to ban all transactions for online gambling sites.
Moreover, the company reiterated that it is convinced that all hindrances should be omitted in order to have users engaging with the tools at hand, despite the country’s larger banks having defence systems in place that back social responsibility when it comes to gambling.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has since voiced its support for the Monzo letter and has said:
We support all forms of blocking capabilities and are encouraged by the continued uptake by banks of these functions.
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