iGaming Business – The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced that the new Point of Consumption licensing system is to be delayed until November because of a legal challenge by the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA).

Introduced through the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, the regime was initially scheduled to come into effect on October 1 but will now be postponed until the following month due to a judicial review.

The GBGA last month launched legal action against the UK after it branded the new scheme, as well as the UK Gambling Commission’s guidance and policies, as ‘unlawful’.

In a statement released in August, the GBGA accused the regime of being unlawful “because it is an illegitimate, disproportionate and discriminatory interference with the right to free movement of services guaranteed by Article 56 TFEU, and is irrational”.

In response, the DCMS said in a statement yesterday (Thursday) that it will delay implementing the new regime in order to allow the judge presiding over the juridical review to consider the GBGA’s arguments.

“We remain fully confident of our case, and of the significant benefits to consumer protection that the Act will bring,” the DCMS said.

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