UK adult gaming centres are under fire following a BBC "sting" which revealed that only one out of 14 venues in Portsmouth, visited by an undercover reporter, followed the self-exclusion rules properly.
The reporter had registered with a self-exclusion scheme and then visited the AGCs in succession, being welcome in all but one of them, which ran a check on him and then asked him to leave. That operator was Game Nation.
Reacting to the report, the Gambling Commission said the report was "very concerning" and has launched an investigation of its own. The two exclusion schemes available to operators are that of the trade association, Bacta, and SmartEXCLUSION.
The BBC File on 4 programme found that two of the 14 premises in the investigation had not signed up to a self-exclusion scheme, but now are. It is a condition of a licence that they should be included in a self-exclusion programme.
The documentary quoted MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform, who said that a lack of enforcement meant that AGC companies "don’t really care" and called for greater powers for the Gambling Commission.
Bacta president John Bollom was quick to comment on the BBC investigation report.
He said: "Please be reassured that Bacta is fully engaged in responding to these allegations and we are in dialogue with the Gambling Commission, DCMS, MPs and journalists defending the interests of the sector.
"We are also offering support to the local members in Portsmouth at the eye of the media storm."
