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

'Non-intrusive' affordability checks and curbs on stakes for online slots and casino games look set to feature in the British government's gambling review white paper, which is expected to be published in the coming days.

However, while it has been reported the government has estimated industry revenues falling by more than £700 million as a result of restrictions, other measures called for by campaigners around sports sponsorship and a levy on bookmakers to fund treatment of problem gambling, which had been expected to feature, may not appear among proposals after all.

Following a number of false dawns, details of the long-delayed proposals to revamp gambling legislation appeared in The Times newspaper on Wednesday, often used by government as a way of gauging the possible response to policy announcements.

The potential introduction of intrusive affordability checks has been the element of the government's gambling review, launched in December 2020, that has caused most concern for British racing's leadership as well as for punters who have already been subject to them.

There have been estimates that intrusive checks asking for sensitive financial information such as bank statements and wage slips could cost the sport £100m in revenues per annum if introduced at net losses per month of as little as £100.

The Times reported the government was set to propose that betting operators carry out "non-intrusive" checks, which are believed to be akin to soft credit checks looking for issues such as county court judgements, when there is a risk of customers suffering "unsustainable losses".

Gambling minister Chris Philp

Chris Philp, the minister responsible for gambling policy at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), has previously dismissed checks involving information such as bank statements at £100 as "unwelcome, disruptive and disproportionate to the risks".

However, there are already concerns that such checks are already taking place due to pressure from the Gambling Commission, which it was reported is set to be given more powers and extra funding.

Among other proposals expected in the white paper are restrictions on free bets and bonuses, although these may stop short of the controversial total ban called for by some campaigners.

Online stakes for slots and casino games are set to be reduced to between £2 and £5 to achieve parity with products available in betting shops.

However, plans for a ban on gambling companies sponsoring Premier League football shirts have reportedly been dropped, with ministers hoping to reach a voluntary agreement with clubs.

A mandatory levy to replace voluntary contributions from the industry to fund research and treatment of gambling addiction has also been shelved, according to the newspaper report.

The governmental 'write-round' process, in which departments are informed of policy and are able to feed into it, is understood to have begun. There is speculation the white paper could appear as soon as next week, with DCMS questions due to take place in the Commons on July 7.

A Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson, said: "We welcome the government's gambling review and we strongly support many of the measures we expect to be in the forthcoming white paper. Indeed, we have campaigned for many of them.

"On behalf of the 119,000 people whose jobs depend on the regulated betting and gaming industry, we will of course study the white paper when it is published, consider the impact it might have, and respond accordingly."

The BGC claimed latest statistics showed the rate of problem gambling in the year to March 2022 was 0.2 per cent – from 0.4 per cent the previous year.

The spokesperson added: "However, the number of punters using the unsafe, unregulated black market has doubled in recent years to 460,000 and the amount being bet is now in the billions.

"The white paper will have to balance the need to protect the vulnerable and those at risk, while not driving the millions of people who enjoy a bet perfectly safely to the black market.

"The government can and should act without delay, and it should seek to use the powers it has in the current Gambling Act to avoid a lengthy and needless legislative process in parliament."

Campaigners voiced disapproval at what they described as the watering down of the white paper.

Iain Duncan Smith: government must not 'emasculate' the white paper

Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith said that if the government were to "emasculate" the white paper it would "see a lot of opposition".

Charles Ritchie, the co-founder of the charity Gambling with Lives, said that a statutory levy on gambling profits was "the only way to end the industry's harmful influence over gambling treatment, information, and research".

James Grimes, who leads The Big Step campaign to end all gambling advertising and sponsorship in football, claimed the reports about shirt sponsorship were "old information" and that the government was going to take "stronger action" on gambling advertising.

"The minister himself said last week this was a very serious issue," he added.

Shares in 888 Holdings had risen by 10.2p or more than six per cent to 176.4p on Wednesday afternoon following the news, while shares in Paddy Power and Sky Bet owner Flutter Entertainment were down 4p at 8,502p. Ladbrokes Coral owner Entain shares were down 14.5p at 1,289.5p.

Read more on the gambling review:

Customers hit with affordability checks 'disappear and go elsewhere', MPs warned

Government to ensure affordability checks will 'harmonise' with gambling review

On-course bookies claim affordability checks will be 'logistically impossible'

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

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