Affordability checks consultation is closing - now the Gambling Commission must show us it was a genuine consultation

Wednesday marks an important staging post in the ongoing debate over affordability checks, but it is by no means the end of the story.

The first tranche of Gambling Commission consultations to emerge from the government's gambling review white paper is set to close, including the most contentious of all the proposals to stem from that document, that of financial risk checks.

During the final week of the consultation, British racing has hammered home the message about its concerns. First came Arena Racing Company chief executive Martin Cruddace's letter to culture secretary Lucy Frazer, asking her to pause the checks and outlining the financial implications – an estimated £250 million over the next five years – if the proposals are adopted in their current form.

That letter was backed by the leaders of organisations across British racing and has subsequently been supported by prominent figures in the sport including John Gosden, Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls.

Last chance to have your say

The BHA was an exception to that list but the governing body, along with media organisations including the Racing Post, has this week published the results of the Right To Bet survey, which contained a number of important messages for both the sport and for ministers and the Gambling Commission.

For British racing, there was further evidence not only that the sport's income from betting could be massively impacted by the plans set out in the consultation but that punters were already being affected by checks that have yet to be mandated by the government.

For both ministers and the industry regulator, the message was clear that the proposals are deeply unpopular with the most regular customers of bookmakers. Monday's release said the voices of those customers had often been lost in the debate on affordability checks. The issue now is whether they will be heard.

It is unlikely that either ministers or the Gambling Commission are unaware of the opposition to the proposals. However, the efforts to influence policy cannot be allowed to falter just because the consultation has closed.

Leading jumps trainers Nicky Henderson (left) and Paul Nicholls among those to voice concern about the impact of affordability checks

In normal circumstances, once a Gambling Commission consultation has closed the regulator will consider the responses before changes to the licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) are announced.

However, in the case of affordability checks, some of those LCCP will be rendered inactive while the promised trial of 'frictionless checks' is carried out. Even then there will be a further time lag before anything is implemented to allow operators to get their technology up to scratch. This is, of course, all dependent on frictionless checks being possible.

The next stage of the process is vital and the commission must ensure it truly considers all the responses to the consultation. But there has to be some concern it might not. It has said it welcomes "all views and will consider responses carefully", which is, on the face of it, reassuring. However, it has also said it has seen "a significant amount of misinformation" about the proposed checks "in direct responses to the consultation".

The estimates and claims made in the white paper and the consultation are just that, but they are being presented as if they were facts which should not be challenged.

What might be "misinformation" to the Gambling Commission is just as likely to be legitimate concerns about the claims being made about the proposals, and the industry regulator should not simply dismiss them as "misunderstandings".

The commission's attitude to the consultation it carried out on affordability checks in 2021 is also a little unsettling as the results of that consultation have yet to be published more than two and a half years after it closed.

Industry analysts Regulus Partners requested disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act but the commission turned down the request this month, saying there was no public interest in releasing the information at this point and it would be published in due course. This was despite chief executive Andrew Rhodes being quizzed about the consultation by MPs as long ago as June last year.

"Affordability and affordability checks are of great public interest," Julian Knight MP, the then chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, told Rhodes. "It seems to be very strange that this has not been made publicly available."

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes

Knight added: "We have a right to see it as well and so does the general public, because we pay for you."

The commission also told Regulus "the necessary preparation and administration involved" was an issue with publication. That, as Regulus pointed out, does rather beg the question of what it has been doing with the information gleaned from the 13,000 responses to the consultation for all this time.

If, as seems possible, the response to the commission's first call for evidence on affordability checks was as negative as the response to both the Right To Bet Survey and the latest consultation would appear to have been, it would be very difficult to also blame that on misinformation or misunderstandings.

Instead, it would be more evidence of how unpopular the idea of the checks is with regular bettors who, as Monday's release pointed out, might wonder why their chosen pastime has been singled out for such treatment compared to other forms of expenditure.

It is incumbent on ministers to ensure the Gambling Commission holds true to its promise that this is a genuine consultation.

The Gambling Commission's consultation on affordability checks closes on Wednesday. To complete the consultation, visit racingpost.com/consultation and follow the instructions.

The Racing Post also wants to hear from you: What has been your experience of affordability checks since the white paper was published at the end of April, and what do you think of the government's proposals? Have affordability checks affected your betting behaviour?

It's a chance for your voice to be heard. Email the Racing Post at editor@racingpost.com with the subject 'Affordability checks' to share your experiences, your thoughts about the government's proposals, and your contact details.

Read these next:

Racing's financial ecosystem on the line warns Jockey Club chief as he urges response to pivotal affordability consultation 

More than half of punters prepared to bet significantly less or walk away from racing over affordability checks, survey reveals 

'An appalling act of harm which beggars belief' - Hugo Palmer latest trainer to sound alarm over affordability checks 

'They are like ­Frankenstein’s monster and the ­ramifications will be dreadful' - Racing Post readers on affordability checks 

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