the british government has reject The House of Commons treasury committee has tabled a proposal to regulate retail trading of cryptocurrencies in the same way as gambling is regulated, stressing that it “strongly disagrees” with the committee’s position.
Group of U.K. lawmakers calls for gambling-like regulation of U.K. cryptocurrency market in May 17 committee Report. The Ministry of Finance committee stated that cryptocurrency investment activities comply with the principle of “same risk, same regulatory outcome.”
In a response to the committee on July 20, Andrew Griffith, the finance minister at the U.K. Treasury, rejected the proposal, saying the Treasury strongly disagreed with “the committee’s recommendation that retail trading and investing in unsecured cryptoassets be regulated as gambling rather than as a financial service.”
In the UK, all forms of gambling are governed by the Gambling Act 2005. Businesses including bingo halls, lotteries, betting shops, online bookmakers and casinos are under scrutiny to curb compulsive gambling and enforce anti-money laundering measures.
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The government responded by pointing out that such an approach risked going completely against globally agreed recommendations by international organizations and standard-setting bodies. The UK government believes the committee’s recommendations could create unclear and overlapping mandates between the financial watchdog and the Gambling Commission.
The government added that it was already working to regulate the cryptocurrency market, with proposed regulatory legislation brought before parliament for debate last month. Talking about setting standards for the crypto industry and crypto companies, the government said:
“HM Treasury and the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) will work with the industry to ensure that cryptocurrency firms are fully aware of the standards required for FSMA Gateway approval. Further communication will be provided in due course to ensure that the criteria for approval are clear to cryptocurrency firms operating in the UK.”
The government also said the legislation could come into force by the end of 2023 and the committee’s recommendations would be considered.
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