Association of British Bookmakers (ABB)
Association of British Bookmakers Limited (ABB)
The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) was founded in October 2002 and is a British trade association that represents some of the most important bookmakers in Great Britain. The main objective of the association is to make it possible for betting shops operators to compete and be successful at the same time.
In addition to that, the Association of British Bookmakers acknowledges that it plays an important role in minimizing the risks of gambling to protect children and vulnerable persons. Therefore, the ABB strongly supports the RIGT-website (Responsibility in Gambling Trust) which exists in order to face problem gambling by financing treatment, research and education programmes.
Members
Some of the most important members of the ABB include Ladbrokes and William Hill but apart from those, more than 7,000 licensed betting offices are registered with the association.
Gambling Act 2005
In order to ensure fair betting, the “Gambling Act 2005” which was designed to regulate all forms of gambling, demands all bookmakers to make their betting rules public. In case a customer feels that he or she has been treated in an unfair way, he or she should primarily contact the bookmaker concerned. If the respective bookmaker is not able or willing to solve the problem, customers have the possibility to take it to an independent adjudicator. When the “Proceeds of Crime Act” was passed, the Association of British Bookmakers produced some guidelines on how this Act will affect them and how they should cooperate with SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency). The SOCA is responsible for dealing with financial information concerning suspected proceeds of crime in order to respond to money laundering.
Crimestoppers
The Association also approves an organization called “Crimestoppers” which started in 1988. Crimestoppers is an independent charity that tries to help solve crimes and asks everyone to phone and report concerns immediately and anonymously. If passers-by assist in achieving a successful prosecution following a robbery of a betting shop, the so called “ABB Reward Scheme” remunerates them for their efforts by paying up to £ 10,000.
Contact details
You can easily contact the Association of British Bookmakers by phone, fax or email.
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7434 2111
- Fax: +44 (0)20 7434 0444
- E-mail: mail@abb.uk.com
- postal address:
Association of British Bookmakers Ltd
Regency House
1-4 Warwick Street
London W1B 5LT
UK