UK Gambling Commission Proposes Invasive Affordability Check

The British Gambling Commission is looking to introduce a new hurdle aimed at making online gambling in the country safer for at-risk players. As part of the jurisdictions' ongoing gambling review, the Board presented an “affordability check” to ensure that local punters are playing within their means.

As one would expect the gambling community has not taken well to the idea that a government group is looking to give casinos, racetracks, and other gambling institutions the ability to look into their personal finances on a whim. The gambling providers will be able to see where the funds originate and how the person being investigated has been spending it.

This information will then be used to determine for them whether they may spend what money they have on gambling. This would put the UK even further into “nanny state” territory than it already is.

Polling The Community

British television channel Racing TV is a leading live horse racing broadcaster with a massive local following. In response to the news of the proposed “affordability check”, they polled their community to gauge the market response.

Unsurprisingly the poll was met with some venom as more than 2000 punters protested for their rights to privacy and control over their finances.

Some of the leading results were:

• 95% were unhappy with gambling sites looking into their financial status
• 88% believed they should have the freedom to gamble without government interference
• 85% felt this would drive them to unregulated gambling sites
• 74% felt these checks should be limited to confirmed problem players

In response to these results Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Michael Dugher said:

“I’m alarmed at the findings - particular the high number who believe that punters will simply move to the unsafe, unregulated black market online if blanket enhanced spending checks are introduced – and hope that ministers will take heed of punters’ views.”

This negative pushback to the proposed financial review was not limited to the members of Racing TV. Of the punters polled by At The Races 94% were against this level of interference. This was followed by 88% of respondents to the three polls by Flutter which felt the same.

A recent poll by YouGov specifically hit on the potential for increased black market casino spending should this bill be passed. Nearly 60% of all respondents felt that unregulated gambling sites would see a boom in new business.

Missing The Mark

Once again, the British officials who come up with these ideas find their intentions and real-life on opposing ends of the spectrum. While it is commendable to want to protect Britons who are dealing with potentially addictive behaviours it cannot come at the expense of the rights and civil liberties of everyone else.

Dugher further added:

“I am not opposed to spending checks but believe we should use the technology that is now available to target those people who are at vulnerable or at higher risk of problem gambling and providing them with the help they need, rather than blanket checks on every punter.”

Gambling is a legal pastime in the United Kingdom governed by a swathe of well thought out rules and regulations. Rather than allowing tax-paying, contributing members of society to live their lives as they please the Gambling Commission, and its adjacent bodies are once again forcing a “one size fits all” solution that has more potential to harm local gamblers than help them.

Any move by the Gambling Commission, which has been labelled as draconian several times in recent history, that encourages gamblers to choose unregulated offshore casinos as a less invasive solution has failed before it has begun.