Gambling Commission boss defends 'lack of transparency' on affordability checks

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes was grilled by MPs last week over affordability checks and why the industry regulator had not published the findings of a consultation it launched on the subject in 2020.

Rhodes was appearing in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee with the government's long-awaited gambling review white paper expected to be published in the coming days.

He told the committee that it had been agreed that the controversial subject of affordability checks should be dealt with as part of the white paper.

However, the industry regulator has been accused of ramping up intrusive affordability checks requiring customers to provide sensitive financial information such as bank statements and wage slips without a proper mandate.

The commission launched its consultation on affordability in November 2020, which included proposals that checks could be introduced at levels of spend as low as £100 a month.

The consultation closed the following February having received 13,000 responses, and Rhodes took over as Gambling Commission chief executive four months later.

When asked by committee chair Julian Knight MP why the commission had not released the consultation, Rhodes said it had been "a little bit before my time".

He added: "We have agreed with DCMS that issues around affordability checks are something for the white paper. We obviously originally anticipated the white paper would be a little earlier than it has been and so we have wrapped our work into the white paper. That's my understanding."

Rhodes added: "We expect statements on what government would like to see on affordability checks, if that is part of the white paper, to be covered by the white paper itself and that is what we have agreed to do."

The Gambling Commission was under scrutiny over its consultation plans for affordability checks

Asked if the commission had any plans to consult again on affordability, Rhodes said: "If affordability checks are part of the white paper and that's an action given to the commission there would be a consultation on what form they should take, what levels they should be at."

However, in April the commission said it planned to consult on the steps operators should take to tackle unaffordable binge gambling, significant unaffordable losses over time and failure to identify consumers who are particularly financially vulnerable, including thresholds.

Knight continued to press Rhodes over the non-publication of the commission's consultation, describing it as an area needing wider scrutiny than that of the DCMS.

"I would have thought it would be of real interest to parliamentarians rather than for it just to be sort of handed covertly to officials at DCMS," Knight said. "That seems very strange and actually frankly an approach lacking in transparency?"

Rhodes said: "I wasn't at the commission at the time so I'm very happy to look at what the reason was that it wasn't published.

"My understanding since I've joined the commission is that we have fed into the white paper that affordability checks will be considered as part of the white paper's recommendations rather than have essentially two particular bites at that."

Knight also questioned Rhodes over the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms, asking what metrics had been used to determine its effectiveness, especially around the use of the £40 million raised from regulatory settlements with operators who had failed social responsibility and anti-money laundering rules.

The committee chair was not happy with the response, describing the commission as "slipshod".

"You don't seem to have any quantifiable metrics in order to understand exactly what effect that actually has had in the wider public," Knight said.

"All you have seemingly are generalised statistics which would be available anywhere. There's nothing there to say that what you're doing as an organisation has a blind bit of difference to the public good. There's nothing you can point to."

Rhodes said that the headline rate of gambling harm had been falling, adding: "That I would suggest is a good thing."

He added: "We are open that we think there is more work to be done to understand the wider effects around gambling harm. We have taken very robust action in relation to a number of operators to drive up standards.

"Standards are undoubtedly rising but there is more that we should do.

"I am happy to say I am not personally aware of the exact metrics that are used to measure today the regulatory settlements that we have given. I will need to write to you exactly how we measure them."

TRP and SIS agree settlement

Rival betting-shop service providers SIS and The Racing Partnership have agreed a settlement over a long-running damages claim of up to £40 million against the former.

The case reached the Court of Appeal in October 2020, when Arena Racing Company (Arc), the driving force behind TRP, claimed success in the long-running legal battle. Both sides were given leave to appeal at that juncture.

In May the previous year, a high court judge found SIS had unlawfully breached confidentiality in raceday data belonging to Arc, in a case stretching back to the full launch of TRP in 2017.

Agreement was revealed in a statement issued on behalf of SIS, which read: “SIS and TRP have settled their litigation and both parties are pleased the dispute has been resolved amicably. The terms of settlement are confidential.”

In the Court of Appeal judgement close to two years ago, TRP succeeded in overturning the original judge's decision that SIS was not liable for an unlawful means conspiracy, while SIS's appeal in relation to breach of confidentiality was upheld.

Spotlight Sports Group publishes betting study

The Racing Post's parent company Spotlight Sports Group (SSG) last week released its second review of the sports betting industry 'BetTech Ecosystem 2022'.

The 2022 version has been expanded by more than 60 per cent with the visual now containing seven new sub-segments and 127 new suppliers. It is supported by an industry report and, new for this year, additional commentary from five industry leaders.

The study was conducted internally by a team of SSG researchers with the support of independent industry experts. The research focuses on the regulated European and North American markets.

SSG's group head of B2B marketing Alan Davis said: "What we've found from this year's research is that M&A might have slowed slightly but there is no lack of innovation in the industry. The visual continues to expand and while this is not definitive, we feel this gives a snapshot of the industry-leading into the new football seasons either side of the Atlantic."

For industry news, expert opinion and all the latest business to business racing and sports products visit Racing Post B2B

Read more on the gambling review:

'Out of control' regulator told to leave affordability checks to gambling review

Regulator slammed for ramping up affordability checks ahead of gambling review

'Non-intrusive' affordability checks expected to feature in gambling white paper

'Hours and hours wasted' – the punters already affected by affordability checks

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday