UK-licensed online gambling operators have been given new marching orders from their regulator regarding how they operate in our current pandemic purgatory.

On Tuesday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) issued new guidance for its online gambling licensees, featuring “tighter measures to protect consumers during lockdown.” The UKGC also published data that purports to show “the impact that COVID-19 is having on consumers and the industry so far.”

The UKGC clearly wants to have it both ways, as they claim that, while “there is no evidence to suggest an increase in problem gambling,” the closure of land-based gambling venues and the cancellation of major sports has increased consumers’ use of online casino, poker and virtual sports products, which could leave some gamblers “at greater risk of harm during lockdown.”

As such, the UKGC says operators must now prevent reverse withdrawal options – in which an operator grants a customer’s request to reverse an in-process withdrawal, which the UKGC calls “a flag for potential gambling harms” – until further notice.