UKGC Pledge Financial Risk Assessments Report Amid Policy Criticism

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has promised to release a detailed report containing the methodology and rationale behind implementing its financial risk assessments (FRAs) policy.

Over the past few months, the Commission has come under attack over the phased rollout of the controversial measures recently unveiled. Moreover, the UKGC were pressed to take action following a series of questions concerning the policy that were raised by a cross-party Culture, Media, and Sport committee.

Fleshing out policy details

In one of the biggest shake-ups to the UK betting industry, the UKGC planned to introduce FRAs gradually. Targeting bettors experiencing financial difficulties, the checks would start with players aged 25 or over who were gambling more than £5,000 in a rolling 24-hour period. Intriguingly, the watchdog conceded this was an "unusually high spend pattern” affecting 0.5% of punters.

Once fully enacted, the FRAs would apply to players with net deposits exceeding £1,000 in a rolling 24-hour period or £3,000 over a rolling 90-day period. For those under the age of 25, the threshold would be lowered to £750 in a rolling 24 hours or £2,000 in a rolling 90-day period.

During the piloting session, the UKGC discovered 97% of players staking above the designated threshold levels could find themselves assessed for financial difficulties in a frictionless manner.

As a result, less than 3% of bettors would be assessed, translating to fewer than 1,000 accounts. In such cases, operators would have to conduct assessments through other means such as open banking.

No fixed date for policy explanation

While the UKGC factored time for consultations this summer with implementation groups, mainly comprising gambling operators and credit reference agencies, the UKGC’s acting CEO, Sarah Gardner, was a bit coy on when exactly a fully evidence-based report would be published.

She said:

“We plan to issue the consultation response in the Autumn which will set out this information, consistent with our usual practice of explaining our decisions in full.

“The reason, in this case, why we did not publish the consultation response when we announced a decision to proceed relates to the timetable for implementation.

“We think it is important to ensure, in relation to decisions on the way FRAs will be implemented, that our consultation response is informed by discussions with stakeholders and particularly by discussions with implementation groups that we are currently establishing.”

Bringing horseracing into the conversation

The horseracing community have been among the biggest FRAs critics. Indeed, racing industry stakeholders have openly questioned the communication channels with the UKGC, and in some respects, they have felt left in the dark over the policy.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) provided a stinging attack on the proposal, insisting FRAs could drive VIP punters away from the sport.

They claimed the sport is facing financial hardship as the policy could lead to a large reduction in betting turnover. This in turn, they suggested, could materialise in £13 million lost per year in horseracing betting levy receipts.

Nevertheless, Gardner has since revealed that the UKGC has scheduled a meeting with the BHA to discuss the topic of FRAs. Indeed, Gardner is keen to have “constructive engagement with racing stakeholders” to see where they stand on the subject.

Shining a light on the matter

Although the final stage of the affordability checks has not been confirmed, it is hoped the consultation report will shine a light on the matter. If anything, the UKGC needs to get back on a more solid footing with its detractors.