Gambling Commission delays decision on financial risk assessment

The UK Gambling Commission has postponed a decision on the full implementation of its Financial Risk Assessment (FRA). The announcement was made after a board meeting held on May 21st.

In a statement to iGB, the commission said it held a board meeting yesterday to consider next steps regarding the FRA.

“[UKGC] Although an extensive evidence base has been presented, the evaluation of that evidence has not yet been fully completed. We plan to keep in touch further in the future.”

Notorious FRA

The planned FRA is part of the government’s 2023 Gambling Law Reform White Paper. The pilot program, which began in August 2024, aimed to act as a harm prevention tool to alert customers to risky gambling activities without imposing spending caps on them.

The Gambling Commission stressed that these assessments are not intended to limit spending, but rather to assist vulnerable players by identifying those who may be facing financial hardship. They concluded that only 3% of active customers trigger an intervention step. On the other hand, 97% will receive a smooth evaluation without any confusion.

In a keynote speech at the Ethical Gambling Forum in London in April, GC general secretary Tim Miller argued that following the FRA, operators will no longer need to require supporting financial documents such as bank statements.

According to a YouGov survey published by BGC, 65% of UK bettors said they would refuse to provide personal financial documents if they were required to do so in order to continue betting.

Following the delay in the Gambling Commission’s decision, Sophie Kemp, partner and head of public law at Kingsley Napley, stressed that a reasonable assessment needed to be carried out.

“The Gambling Commission had already acknowledged that there were unresolved questions about the reliability of credit reference data, friction with customers and the risks of directing customers to unregulated black market operators. The Commission’s decision to delay affordability testing tends to suggest that the trial evidence does not resolve these concerns across the industry,” Kemp said.

He added: “The Gambling Commission will not be able to proceed with such a significant decision unless it has reasonably assessed its implications. If this were to occur, any claim for judicial review would likely be successful.”

opposition continues

Opposition to the FRA has intensified in recent months, involving not only gambling operators but also politicians, horse racing industry officials and media commentators.

A cross-party group of MPs signed an open letter earlier this week calling on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to abandon the initiative altogether. The letter focused specifically on the horse racing industry, expressing concerns that affordability testing would destroy the established synergy between horse racing and gambling at a time when horse racing is already facing increased economic challenges.

Ian Angus, director of policy at the Gambling Commission, addressed the concerns at a Clarion Payment Providers event this week, stressing: “Financial risk assessments are not an affordability check in another name. The checks we are piloting do not seek to assess how much each customer can afford to spend on gambling.”

At this time, the UK Gambling Commission has not provided a revised timeline for finalizing its decision on the financial risk assessment.