New scheme to prevent gambling-related harm will not 'limit the rights and freedoms of most punters' says GamProtect chair

The team behind a new 'single customer view' scheme designed to protect those most vulnerable to health-related problem gambling have moved to reassure the public it is not a first step towards limiting punters' freedom.

GamProtect, in which industry giants Flutter Entertainment, Entain, bet365 and William Hill have been participating since April 2023, was officially opened up for all operators to join on Wednesday.

There have been concerns the industry-led scheme could be used by operators to identify and limit winning customers, something which GamProtect chairman Kane Purdy claimed was "patently" not the case.

Under the scheme, participating operators will identify a player as being at risk if the customer themself states they meet one of five triggers: that they have a gambling addiction, they are seeking support or treatment for addiction, they might harm themselves and/or others, they should not be gambling due to a health condition or that they want to stop gambling due to gambling addiction.

Following an interaction an operator will share the customer's name, date of birth, postcode, email address, telephone number and reason for the flag with GamProtect, allowing other operators to check if the same customer has an account with them and close it.

Purdy said: "It is independent, created and driven by the industry for the benefit of the most vulnerable customers and based on the highest standards of data protection.

"We believe we have delivered a solution that is simple, easy to understand and implement and can help prevent harm to those most vulnerable of customers.

"For the first time under GamProtect, participating operators can confidently, compliantly and securely share information with other operators on customers who need the most support."

Purdy acknowledged GamProtect and the idea of a single customer view had been criticised as being "the thin end of the wedge" and "the first stop on the pathway to a national database of gamblers".

"This is patently not the case," he said.

Since going live in April 2023, 5,527 customers have been added to the scheme which also offers customer redress, with 163 of those customers coming out as a result.

Purdy added: "Evidentially this is not some Orwellian scheme to limit the rights and freedoms of most gamblers in this country. This is a scheme designed and built by the industry to help the most vulnerable."

Gambling Commission executive director Tim Miller

Gambling Commission executive director Tim Miller said the industry regulator welcomed GamProtect and raised the possibility it might be broadened out in future to include other markers of harm.

Miller told the launch the commission was happy the scheme was one that worked and could be trusted in.

He added: "At the commission we are really pleased with the progress that has been made to date, and we can also see the opportunity for it to expand, with more operators signing up, and the potential for it to continue to strengthen in the future, perhaps incorporating other serious markers of harm."

That could raise fears of the scheme being widened out to areas such as affordability checks, although Miller did say that wider participation by operators was necessary before future development of GamProtect could be considered.

Purdy acknowledged the scheme was likely to evolve but spoke about the difficulty of identifying universal markers of harm across the entire gambling industry.

"Markers of harm is a developing area but with such a diverse industry with different products, different customers and different demographics, to pigeonhole and say 'this is a marker of harm which is universal across the industry' is very, very difficult."

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