The UK Gambling Commission reported that it has completed approximately 1.7 million assessments in the second phase of its pilot program aimed at evaluating financial risk among bettors, with 97% being classified as “frictionless”.
In August of the previous year, the Gambling Commission initiated the first phase of its financial risk assessment pilot, in response to recommendations outlined in the UK’s gambling review white paper.
These assessments are activated when a bettor’s net monthly deposit reaches £500 ($671.29), with operators having the ability to request checks from credit reference agencies.
The Gambling Commission deemed the first phase of the pilot successful, with 95% of assessments being frictionless.
The second phase has shown an increase to 97% across the 1.7 million checks, covering about 860,000 accounts, conducted with three credit reference agencies. More details can be found here.
This 97% rate surpasses the 80% estimate from the 2023 white paper, which raised concerns about adding more friction and safeguarding player confidentiality.
The commission acknowledged that the rise in frictionless checks could be attributed to the use of more current data in the second stage from operators.
Helen Rhodes, the Commission’s Director of Major Policy Projects, stated, “These additional findings from the pilot have provided insight into the potential for conducting assessments smoothly.”
“Building on our incremental approach to the pilot, we will delve into data consistency among credit reference agencies and how operators can identify and assist customers facing financial challenges,” Rhodes added.
Analysis of Financial Risk Checks
The Gambling Commission is enhancing its understanding of the financial risk profiles of players subject to assessments in the pilot program.
Two of the three credit reference agencies shared data indicating that customers meeting pilot thresholds were more likely to trigger a direct risk flag, providing operators with relevant data.
While results vary among operators, customers triggering assessments were two to four times more likely to have a debt management plan and two to five times more likely to have defaulted in the previous 12 months compared to the wider UK population.
Progress of Stage Three in the Pilot
The Gambling Commission disclosed that stage three of the pilot is in the reporting phase, with plans to utilize this phase and subsequent analysis to target checks more effectively towards those at the highest financial risk.
“We will also investigate ways to reduce any unnecessary discrepancies between credit reference agencies and provide support to operators in potential future implementations,” the commission stated.
Data-sharing for stage three concluded on April 30, moving the focus to the analysis phase, anticipated to continue through the summer.
