One of the industry’s most reputable gambling authorities, the UK Gambling Commission, has published a discussion paper in which it shines light on virtual currencies, eSports, social gaming and more. Moreover, the authority is seeking views on emerging issues that may pose a future risk to both player protection and regulation.

The paper was developed to address the blurring lines between certain gambling technological advances, expansion of cryptocurrencies and social gaming products as well as the market growth for eSports gambling.

As was explained by the General Counsel at the Commission, Neil McArthur, the key concern for the authority was to make sure that players were protected and that vulnerable groups as well as children weren’t harmed or exploited by gambling. He also pointed out that the Gambling Commission was concerned about various “in-game” items and digital currencies that can be used to gamble. Additionally, McArthur highlighted that any operator that wants to offer gambling facilities to UK players, gambling using cryptocurrencies included, must hold an appropriate operating licence.

The General Counsel also warned unlicensed gambling operators to stop offering their service or they would face the consequences of their actions. Moreover, he expressed concern about betting on eSports and demanded such operators to manage risks such as underage individuals trying to bet on their platforms.

The last field of interest of the UK Gambling Commission was social gaming and according to McArthur the regulating body’s view on this issue hasn’t changed drastically in comparison to the one expressed in the publication of January, 2015. He revealed that they had discovered that credits, tokens, loyalty points and additional spins were tradable and therefore they would pay a close attention to the issue.

Interested parties that want to respond to the discussion paper have until the 30th of September, 2016 to do so.