Firms warned over restrictive terms and conditions

Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play have formally agreed to remove terms and conditions which stopped players withdrawing all their own money in one go.

With growing numbers of people choosing to play games and gamble online, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating the £4.9billion sector after finding that a number of firms use unfair practices and terms and conditions.

Until now, players using Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play could be made to withdraw their money in instalments over an extended period, which could lead some to gamble again where they might otherwise make a withdrawal.

The companies have also agreed to stop using unfair terms which meant they could confiscate money from players’ accounts because they had not logged in for a certain amount of time.

In addition, Progress Play has agreed not to confiscate players’ money if they do not meet their identity check rules within a specific timeframe. Whilst companies need to be able to make appropriate and proportionate identity checks to help prevent money laundering and fraud, they cannot justify confiscating someone’s money simply because they do not provide information within a specific time frame.

The CMA has been working in collaboration with the sector regulator, the Gambling Commission, to improve terms and conditions for players online and to help ensure firms do not break consumer protection law.

The changes being made by these companies today are supported by the Gambling Commission, which expects firms across the sector to apply the same standards to make online gambling fairer for players. Firms that do not make any necessary changes to their terms may face regulatory action.

George Lusty, Senior Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA, commented: “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.”

Paul Hope, Executive Director, Gambling Commission added: “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.”