Gamblers Consumer Forum Says Affordability Checks Don’t Work

There has also been fair support for the measures, seen as the only way to prevent unwarranted death and rising problem gambling levels in the country.

Yet, a recent poll saw 100,000 signatures collected to oppose the measure and now, the Gamblers Consumer Forum insists that the government should abandon this project altogether. There really is a lot going on right now, with opinions split in the middle.

Affordability Checks Don’t Work Says the Gamblers Consumer Forum

Recently, the Gamblers Consumer Forum met with representatives of the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), but said that the meeting had been a stalemate that did not move the discussion forward.

The Forum argues that affordability checks must be frictionless to be integrated, something that the government had promised when it first started talking about those measures. Yet, the Forum is now convinced – and claims to have supporting evidence in the works – that it’s impossible to implement “fully frictionless” checks.

Presently, the Forum is collecting further evidence it would use to try and sway the DCMS and the Gambling Commission, which are both firmly in favor of such checks. However, the Forum also fears that this support is not coming from a place of understanding.

For one, the organization has still not received any tangible evidence from the DCMS that affordability checks will actually lead to a reduction in harmful gambling levels.

Even the UK Gambling Commission has recently changed its methodology, which suggests higher problem gambling levels, but the regulator warns that these results are not comparable to previous data sets. Basically, affordability checks are already happening, and they are not frictionless, the Forum argued in a statement.

The Forum will seek to collect evidence that details the process from the standpoint of consumers who may be finding it hard to go through such checks or unnecessarily complicated in the first place. The Forum is convinced that this methodology is misplaced and not going to lead to any improvement in the levels of harmful gambling.

Looking for Sufficient Evidence to Tackle Affordability Checks

There has indeed been a notable increase in the opposition to affordability checks. Yet just because affordability checks do not work or need to be better implemented right now, does not mean that they cannot work in future.

Besides, there are many companies that are already offering to conduct such checks in a seamless manner that onboard the customers quickly and does not interfere with their gameplay. The Forum, though, has a point about one thing – clear evidence needs to be presented whether the affordability checks are upheld or dismissed.

Hard data should guide either decision.