The UK’s gambling minister Chris Philp has outlined a raft of government proposals that include checks to prevent gamblers from incurring losses they cannot afford at online bookmakers and regulated & legal UK online casinos.
Speaking at GambleAware’s annual conference, Philp said:
“I have heard too many stories of people who lost obviously unaffordable amounts of money … without proper checks being made by the gambling operators who had the data available. I have also heard about direct marketing, offers and VIP treatment being targeted at people with manifest gambling problems. This is not how gambling should operate, and we must take decisive measures to change it.”
He went on to state that a new white paper set to be published next year will outline the proposals in further detail but that affordability checks for online casinos in the UK would be very likely included saying that it was ‘far too late’ for this kind of action to be made mandatory.
He went on to add:
“Demanding payslips or bank statements from every customer spending £100 is probably going to be unwelcome, disruptive and disproportionate. But there is a level at which that is appropriate.”
Data from credit rating agencies may also be used for players who wager smaller sums while in-depth checks that include the checking of payslips and bank statements will be used for larger sums or more frequent gamblers.
Gambling Commission Interim CEO, Andrew Rhodes also spoke at the conference and stated that the rise in social responsibility breaches by operators implied that many operators simply saw fines as a ‘ compliance tax’ that must be paid.
He noted:
“Too many operators are not complying with our rules. This year is on course to be our busiest year. We still see cases that make everyone blush. That has to stop.”
Zoe Osmond, chief executive of GambleAware, added:
“We welcome the minister’s announcement that the government is working with the Gambling Commission to take steps to better protect people at risk of gambling harms through affordability checks, a single customer view, and a data repository to inform intervention and uphold industry standards.”
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.