The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has introduced new financial risk assessments for heavy online gamblers to enhance consumer protection.
This means that those aged 25 years or more will be subjected to the checks if they spend more than $1250 in any one calendar day or $3750 in any rolling period of 90 days. For bettors below 25 years old, the limits would be lower such that spending more than $940 will trigger the financial risk checks.
This is possible because the new financial risk assessments are based on information collected from credit reference agencies and will not affect the credit scores of consumers. The UKGC clarified that these assessments are not affordability checks and that they will slowly be implemented, starting with the customers who spend above $6500 within a short time frame.
Acting Chief Executive Sarah Gardner said, they believe this approach will enable support for high-spending customers in financial difficulties, while reducing friction for customers who are not.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has criticized the decision, claiming that the industry still has concerns about the reliability and practical application of the assessments.
BGC Chief Executive Grainne Hurst said:
The central issues around reliability, consumer impact and the practical operation of these checks remain unresolved. We support evidence-led, proportionate regulation that protects vulnerable people while allowing the 22.5 million adults in Britain who bet each month to do so safely. But until the Commission can demonstrate these checks are accurate, consistent and genuinely frictionless, our fundamental concerns remain, including the risk of driving customers towards the growing illegal gambling market.