D-Day for ‘frictionless’ financial checks

D-Day for ‘frictionless’ financial checks - Banner
Simon Wooldridge
by Simon Wooldridge Last updated:

Controversy surrounds the forthcoming roll-out of the Gambling Commission’s financial vulnerability checks edict. 

Imminent roll-out

From 30 August online punters will undergo assessment as to whether their gaming spend is damaging their financial health. Checks will kick-in at £500 net loss in a month, reducing to £150 next February.

Minimal impact claim

The Gambling Commission says impact will be minimal – estimating only 0.3% of players ever having to produce financial documents to justify their capacity to have a spin or back the second favourite in the 2.20.

Resistance

But while the Gambling Commission was busy acting out its benevolent uncle position earlier this year a freedom of information application was made by Regulus Partners which cast a big shadow over the Commission. The reason? The Gambling Commission chose to be somewhat selective in what they shared from a wide-ranging survey of over 12,000 people. Some of the numbers they didn’t want people to know included:

  • 42% of respondents would refuse to share financial information
  • 22.5% would stop betting with a business that asked for financial information
  • Only just over 1 in 8 (14%) would actually provide financial information requested

Another survey, ‘Right to Bet’, which mainly considered horse racing punters, found 25% (of 14,465 surveyed) had been asked to complete affordability checks with 63% refusing, many ultimately taking their custom elsewhere. 

Fears

A major concern about the introduction of these measures is that players will be driven to seek out illegal, unlicensed sites.

The real impact?

Despite the determination of the Gambling Commission to make vulnerability checks a reality and their unerring belief that it’s the right thing to do, many questions remain. 

How much do these checks infringe on privacy and civil liberties? 

How can a blanket figure be applied to people in very different financial circumstances? £150 deposits in a month is next to meaningless for a wealthy retiree in Surrey, whereas a zero hours contract Amazon worker with three children, living in the Midlands it will be a different story. 

Most importantly, will they work? Will financial affordability checks improve players’ lives?

30 August is the day, but it will be some months before we understand the real impact – be that positive or negative.