(AsiaGameHub) – UK gambling industry associations have urged the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to reconsider its financial risk assessments (FRAs) to avoid losing tens of thousands of bettors from the legal gambling market.
The UKGC is currently implementing 63 recommendations from the 2023 Gambling Act Review White Paper to maintain a sustainable and competitive UK gambling industry.
These measures include customer financial risk assessments designed to lower problem gambling by requiring players to submit financial documents to prove they can afford to gamble.
Since August 2024, players have faced financial vulnerability checks—a less stringent version of FRAs that trigger only after £150 in net deposits within 30 days.
However, FRAs will be more extensive. Though the UKGC has pledged to minimize friction by eliminating the need for bank statements or financial documents, the new checks will automatically review a customer’s financial history if they spend £1,000 in 24 hours or £2,000 over three months.
The UKGC’s pilot program for the process raised concerns, as credit reference agencies’ varying methodologies reportedly produced inconsistent financial information for the same individual.
This could create further complications, likely forcing operators to intervene and request personal details directly, undermining the UKGC’s goal of a seamless system.
With no clear resolution to these issues, UK trade organizations are growing increasingly concerned, as both the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have issued warnings about potentially losing thousands of customers.
In an interview with the Racing Post, BGC Chief Executive Grainne Hurst stated: “The Gambling Commission’s proposed financial risk assessments may duplicate current safeguards while creating substantial inconvenience for customers, ultimately driving more people toward dangerous illegal gambling sites.
“The government should therefore request that the Gambling Commission suspend and review FRAs within a broader evaluation of player protection measures, ensuring all modifications are based on evidence and safeguard consumers without pushing them toward unregulated, unsafe markets.”
The horse racing sector is also expected to be impacted. In a Sun article, BHA CEO Brant Dunshea supported Hurst’s appeal for the UKGC to reconsider FRAs, which could be approved as early as this May.
“Horse race betting has proven to be one of the safest gambling forms, but only within a legal, regulated framework,” he said. “Without an improved approach, the illegal market will expand, increasing harm, costing the government tens of millions in tax revenue, and triggering extensive job losses throughout Britain.
“Considering recent regulatory and tax adjustments, I urge the commission and government to thoughtfully evaluate whether this additional regulatory layer is timely.”
When contacted by the Racing Post, the UKGC responded: “We continue to develop financial risk assessments, with a primary focus on reducing friction for consumers.”
The renewed debate over affordability checks emerges before the 1 April introduction of a new UK gambling tax system. Last year’s lobbying against tax increases ahead of the Autumn budget reportedly created some division between betting and racing interests, even though both share common goals.
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