Is the UK gambling industry at risk of missing affordability targets?

(AsiaGameHub) –   Online gambling operators in the UK are likely to experience increasing concern as the number of affordability checks being triggered for players appears to be significantly higher than initially projected in the White Paper.

Initial estimates suggested that only 3% of players would undergo Financial Vulnerability Checks (FVCs). However, data from the initial implementation phase, as reported by Sarah Webster and Richard Sutcliffe from the Gambling Commission’s senior policy research team, revealed that 7% of players were subjected to these checks.

This figure is expected to climb further when the thresholds for full checks are lowered from £500 to £150.

The Gambling Commission (GC) has provided insights into the “light-touch” FVCs, detailing their effects since their introduction in August 2024 and outlining future plans.

While the GC noted positive feedback during this period, concerns were also raised regarding a lack of awareness or clarity among operators about how these checks are conducted.

Some operators mistakenly believed they were receiving credit reference data as part of a financial vulnerability check. Since the sharing of such data is prohibited, this indicates a misunderstanding by those submitting data returns to the Commission.

The feedback stated: “Further to these findings, we met with relevant data providers to discuss these misunderstandings and ask them to support continued education of operators and clarity to consumers that only publicly available information is available as part of a financial vulnerability check.”

It was also explained that “some of the responses from operators indicated a lack of knowledge about what is included in a financial vulnerability check”. These checks are limited to publicly available information concerning significant risk indicators, such as:

A bankruptcy order or equivalent

A County Court Judgment (CCJ)

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

High Court Judgment (HCJ)

An Administrative Order (AO) or decree

A Debt Relief Order or equivalent.

The update from the Commission’s Senior Policy team was delivered with a degree of caution, as researchers are still assessing whether the affordability and target thresholds are effectively identifying vulnerable customers as intended.

This suggests that researchers do not yet consider the pilot phase to be fully established, particularly in light of the upcoming reduction in the FVC threshold.

Further monitoring of FVC conditions is necessary, with researchers concluding: “We will continue to monitor the impact of checks over time and, both directly and through the NatCen’s wider evaluation of Gambling Act Review measures, at the lower £150 threshold and share what we learn as more data becomes available.

“As our work on this in ongoing, we will publish a full findings report following further consideration of the change to the lower £150 threshold.”