In an effort to adapt to the modern trends of digital payments and to attract casinos that deal with such currencies to the country, UK’s Gambling Commission updated the scope of payment options available to licensed casinos to now include Bitcoin.
The changes are a part of their updated License Conditions and Codes of Practice guidelines and they are the result of the Commission’s aim to regulate digital currency casinos that had already attracted UK’s citizens. The Commission already wrote to Bitcoin operators last year, informing them that their activities within the UK will be considered illegal until they obtained an official license.
Thus, section 5.1 of the Code was created. The section stipulates that in order to obtain a license operators would have to introduce the policies prescribed by the LCCP regarding the cash and cash equivalents which would now include “digital currencies” along with the traditional banking methods like cheques, cards, and direct banking, all in order to prevent the issuing of “illicit credit” and to ensure that the activities of the operator are in accordance with the “licensing objectives”. The Code also stipulates that the payment procedures should be reviewed and revised to ensure they stay effective and “take into account any applicable learning or guidelines published by the Gambling Commission”.
This change in licensing requirements is a logical move, as other licensing authorities like the Isle of Man’s GSC and the Government of Curacao have already introduced the change, and other popular licensing destinations are already considering it as well. But there are still a couple of months left before we see the first officially licensed Bitcoin casino in the UK.