UKGC Exec Confronts Policy Criticism With Telling Admission

A senior United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) executive has responded to stinging criticism over the controversial affordability checks policy proposal. Tim Miller, the Commission’s executive director of research and policy, gave a keynote speech at a gambling conference organised by law firm CMS, amid mounting tensions over the prospective measure.

Following Dr James Noyes’s decision to resign from his advisory position on a governmental gambling panel earlier this week, the dissenting voices have grown louder. However, Miller doubled down on the policy, insisting it needs to be given a fair runout.

Evaluating the merits of affordability checks

So far, there has been plenty of discourse created over affordability checks, and rumours have abounded that the measure could be approved at the Commission’s next board meeting on May 21. Although the affordability checks, which are supposed to be frictionless for bettors, have caused a stir, Miller thinks the policy can only be truly judged when fully enacted.

Miller was quick to dismiss notions of the policy being a done deal. Instead of pre-empting board discussions, he gave an honest take on evaluating the policy on its merits.

He said: “What I will say is that in terms of evaluation, you can’t evaluate something until you have implemented it. Throughout, we have had NatCen and others doing work to understand how that pilot has been developing, but you can’t properly evaluate something until it has been rolled out.

“It’s the case with everything else in the white paper, you evaluate it once it’s there in the real world, so you can understand it.”

Giving policy a modern touch

Noyes’s resignation from his advisory role with the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) raised eyebrows, but he admitted he was “astonished” that the potential impact of the policy on bettors wasn’t raised at meetings. Moreover, Noyes hinted the UKGC’s decision to include pay slips and bank statements for establishing affordability checks were “outdated”.

However, Miller tried to shine a light on the situation. Although it was previously suggested that operators would ask for financial documents from customers to prove they can afford to place wagers, Miller wants the policy to have a more modern feel.

He added: “I think we’re in a place now where we shouldn’t need to rely upon things like payslips in 2026.

“Whatever happens with financial risk assessments, one of the things we are seeking to try and do is to create a system where actually you can eliminate a large proportion, if not the majority, of the situations where you do need to be asking for that sort of information because it’s clear consumers don’t want documents checked.”

Assessing the wider picture

Broadly speaking, punters have expressed their reservations towards affordability checks, with a YouGov poll claiming 65% of customers would be unwilling to hand over financial documents to operators. Moreover, the affordability checks carried out could cost the British horseracing industry as much as £300 million over the next five years.

Despite the UKGC claiming the financial risk assessments would be 97% frictionless, surpassing previous White Paper estimates, horseracing bodies such as the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) signed an open letter to the Culture Secretary last month requesting a pause on implementing the scheme.

Joining the parts together

Fundamentally, the UKGC isn’t backing down from affordability checks, with Miller indicating clear guidance would need to be provided on what the risk assessments look like for operators and compliance teams to remove any uncertainty. But for now, industry disgruntlement towards the policy could rumble on.