Two different arms of the UK government have fired warning shots across the bow of the online gambling industry regarding its compliance record, while suggesting strict new bonus offer rules are in the works.

On Tuesday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) hosted its annual Raising Standards conference in Birmingham, to which UKGC chairman Bill Moyes welcomed online gambling operators by warning them that “public support for gambling is beginning to decline.”

Describing his words as a “call to action,” Moyes said the online gambling industry was “approaching a tipping point” where it will have to choose whether it’s viewed as “a responsible part of the entertainment industry” or as “beyond redemption and requiring tough action to tackle its worst excesses.”

Boyes noted that the UKGC had dished out over £10m in penalties on major online gambling operators in recent months, and while these companies’ senior management may have been “horrified” by their responsible gambling shortcomings, their “well-crafted annual assurance statements are worthless” unless backed up by concrete practices.