On Thursday, the British government said that it had rejected proposals from lawmakers to regulate the cryptocurrency industry as though it were a type of gambling, stating that it would be governed similarly to other financial services. Crypto Gambling uk
British financial services minister Andrew Griffith told the Treasury Committee that the finance ministry “firmly disagrees” with their decision to classify retail trading and investment in unbacked cryptoassets as gambling rather than a financial service.
According to Britain’s Financial Services Minister Andrew Griffith, treating cryptoassets like gambling would put Britain at odds with international and European Union regulators and fail to reduce threats from the industry.
Britain is already drafting regulations for the sector in an effort to become a global centre for crypto and related blockchain technology.
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Lawmakers are concerned that presenting the sector like a financial service may make customers believe it is safer than it actually is, despite UK regulators’ warnings to investors that they risk losing all of their money.
A system of gambling regulation would likely not address risks highlighted by the collapse of FTX, a crypto exchange. It would also run completely counter to globally agreed recommendations from global standard-setting bodies, including the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the G20 Financial Stability Board (FSB) with input from domestic regulators. The Committee’s proposed approach would therefore risk creating misalignment with international standards and approaches from other major jurisdictions, including the EU, and potentially create unclear and overlapping mandates between financial regulators and the Gambling Commission
Andrew Griffith Britain’s Financial Services Minister
The EU has adopted the first comprehensive set of trading regulations for cryptoassets, which will take effect in mid 2024 onwards.
Britain is about to introduce regulations for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is backed by real assets and intended to maintain a consistent value as opposed to “unbacked” cryptocurrencies, which are often volatile. Crypto Gambling uk
