Clash Of Pirates

What is Clash Of Pirates?

Gaming machines in arcades recorded £800.1 million in GGY (up 10.7%), mainly across adult gaming centres (£761.4 million, +11.3%). Gaming machines overall contributed £2.7 billion to GGY, reflecting a 4.3% uplift. 

The number of gaming machines in licensed premises in the final quarter was reported at 191,804.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham recent proposed a package of measures that would repeal the established “aim to permit” rule for betting shops and 24-hour slot machine arcades across Great Britain, removing a presumption in favour of granting permission for such venues. 

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At the time KSA announced: “Providers that made mistakes in the past five years must explain during the application process how they have learned from previous mistakes and how they intend to prevent recurrence. If we find this explanation insufficient, the permit may be denied or additional conditions and restrictions may be imposed.” 

This requirement raised concerns among operators worried that the barriers to entry could have become more restrictive, But at a meeting on the policies last year the regulator assured licensees it was not enforcing a specific strict rule on this.

Speaking to iGB at the time, Bjorn Fuchs, chairman of VNLOK Fuchs noted “there was a sigh of relief going through the room when it was presented”.

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UK operators already carry out enhanced checks on politically exposed persons (PEPs), but this case shows the limits of those safeguards, Bethan Lloyd, partner at law firm Wiggin, recently told iGB.

“PEP status does not prevent someone from gambling,” Lloyd explained. She said PEPs are entitled to bet, but not on events where inside information gives them an unfair advantage.

A low ranking MP or parliamentary aide is unlikely to meet the threshold for PEP status. She argued it would place an onerous burden on operators to verify every customer’s occupation.