UK Heading For Crypto Gambling, But Will Consumers Care?

The UK Gambling Commission has begun scoping out how it will allow crypto gambling to exist within its regulatory framework, but there are concerns that embrace of cryptocurrencies by one of the world’s largest online gambling markets might make very little impact.

The UK’s gambling regulator announced in February that it was seriously considering allowing its licence-holding operator to allow gambling with crypto.

The move is driven in part by a project at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to beef up rules around exchanges and other virtual asset providers.

This bedrock, the commission believes, will give it a solid foundation to open up the world of gambling, while addressing concerns around potential money laundering and value fluctuations.

Speaking in London earlier this week, the commission’s enforcement director, John Pierce, confirmed that he is leading a team within the regulator that is scoping out the project.

He said that formal regulations are unlikely to emerge until 2027, but speaking at the annual CMS Conference on Tuesday (May 12), he was clear that “we are moving increasingly towards crypto”.

Pierce added that he is keen to hear from members of the gambling industry on how they would like to see crypto regulations structured, primarily through the regulator’s Industry Forum, but admitted that the staff currently at the regulator lack skills in this area.

This skill gap is an area the Gambling Commission will need to close if it is to create a workable framework for crypto gambling, with some key players in the industry apparently unimpressed with the regulator’s efforts so far, sources say.

Pressure builds

While the regulator is being careful not to fully confirm that it will develop a model for crypto gambling, there’s good reason to believe it will push forward with the project.

This is due to several factors, including the growing threat of the black market. The commissions’ own research into what motives consumers to look offshore found a desire to gamble with their crypto holdings is a key motivator.

There’s also growing pressure from the international anti-money laundering (AML) establishment to do more than simply prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies.

Current advice from the watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is that nations should look to bring crypto within their regulatory framework so as to better protect against its potential misuse for fraud and terrorism funding.

This position has influenced the FCA’s move to develop more complete crypto regulations and in turn has spurred the Gambling Commission to make its own moves.

The suggested date of 2027 for new regulations is no coincidence. FATF will commence its next mutual evaluation of the UK that year and will expect officials to show how they are limiting the flow of crypto from British shores to potentially illicit offshore operators.

Will it work?

There are real concerns that very few crypto casino players would actually be interested in wagering in the regulated market.

“In the UK, the demand is relatively small,” said Maria Rodriguez, the head of payment strategy for operating giant Flutter.

“It’s a very niche service, but it’s consumer that we don’t have access to at the moment,” she added, also speaking at this week’s CMS event.

One of the key questions is what kinds of crypto will be permitted in the UK market.

Pierce hinted that his team is leaning towards only allowing stablecoins, which rules out a large potential consumer segment who own currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

This is primarily due to concerns around volatility. Stablecoins are pegged to supposedly stable currencies or commodities, like the US dollar, and are less susceptible to sudden market movements.

Pierce and Rodriguez both pointed to potential issues where coins with rapidly fluctuating values, such as bitcoin, drop massively while they are being held by operators as a customer deposit.

There are also other potential issues around financial services. Operators need banking partners in order to do business and they will likely resist any drift towards uncertainty.

So, while that makes a stablecoin-only regime the safe option, it’s a choice that risks alienating much of the current black market gambling which the commission is explicitly hoping to tempt onshore.

“You think about the segment that is the pure native crypto customers, even if we get to the point that we offer it, are there really going to come?” wondered Rogriguez. “I still have a question mark of whether we are going to attract those customers or not.”

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