LGA releases Directive on Player Liability

On the 1st October 2012, the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) released the “Players’ Liability Reporting Directive 2012”. As the name suggests, this Directive has created a requirement where licensed remote gaming operators will be required to give on-going reports to the LGA about the state of affairs of player accounts. This Directive is applicable to operators enjoying all four classes of licence.

Essentially, the Directive requires that on the 20th of every month, the operator submit a standard form report chronicling the state of affairs of players making use of the licencee’s services. The report divides itself further into four tiers:

• The Player Liability Report
• The Clients’ Account/s Report
• The Funds in Transit Report
• The Surplus/Shortfall Report

The full report serves to give the LGA a birds’ eye view of the state of player accounts for each licencee and to allow the LGA to ensure that such funds are being handled responsibly. Furthermore, to ascertain the integrity of the reports, the LGA has taken the effective yet controversial step of requiring that access to back end systems of the licencees be provided to them in all cases. This will ensure that nothing irregular has occurred with player funds on the system.