UKGC Provides Clarifications about Financial Checks Amid Misunderstandings

Andrew Rhodes, the chief executive officer of the United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission (UKGC) has addressed certain misunderstandings around the controversial financial risk checks.

The risk checks are one of the measures proposed by the white paper. With the consultation phase now ongoing, Rhodes believes that not everyone fully understands what the checks are all about.

In a short video, the CEO noted that misunderstanding has been ramping up in the past six weeks and that a lot of faulty information has been posted in direct responses in the media and on social media.

Rhodes said that a common misconception is that financial risk checks will affect a large number of people. He also refuted the belief that personal credit scores will be affected by the checks. Rhodes also said that checks will not appear in betting shops, as some have suggested.

What we are trying to do is make sure that when people are responding to our consultation, they are doing so with the right information and they can help us strike the right balance between the freedoms of people to gamble but also protecting people from harm.

Andrew Rhodes, CEO, UKGC

Lighter Checks Will Affect Some Low-Risk Players

The UKGC promised that financial risk checks would be frictionless and would only affect around 3% of all gamblers. The checks will be undertaken through credit reference agencies but will not affect credit scores, as Rhodes said.

In the meantime, the UKGC will also implement light-touch checks on around 20% of all gambling accounts. These will be much less disruptive and will only use publicly available data instead of forcing consumers to supply information.

Checks will affect people with very high and disproportionate loss levels, allowing operators and regulators to check for potential harm. Light checks are planned to occur when a customer loses £125 within 30 days or £500 within 365 days. Financial risk assessments, on the other hand, will occur when a player loses £1,000 within 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days.

For reference, bonus funds and re-staked winnings are not included in these numbers. Also, numbers will likely be lower for players aged 18 to 24.

Before proceeding with either the financial risk checks or light-touch checks, the UKGC seeks guidance from the public, interested parties and industry specialists. Because of that, the regulator wanted to clarify what the checks mean, clearing any misunderstandings.

Rhodes and the UKGC asked the public to provide their feedback during the consultation phase.