Time has come for gambling minister Stuart Andrew to bang some heads together to drive progress

Where does the time go? January has all but come and gone and before you know it they will be lining up for the Supreme.

There will be plenty of racing fans eagerly crossing off dates on the calendar over the next few weeks, but that might not be the case for some in Westminster.

As you will be aware, better late than never, a date has finally been set for the debate on affordability checks triggered by the 100,000-plus signatures added to a petition backed by British racing, which called on the government to abandon its plans.

The debate will take place in Westminster Hall on February 26 and gambling minister Stuart Andrew will want to be able to give an update on progress on this issue, if he has not done so already.

Of the various proposals contained in the government's gambling white paper, such as a statutory levy on operators, a new ombudsman or advertising measures, it is unlikely to be a surprise that the issue of affordability checks is proving to be the trickiest to resolve.

Public commentary from the government and the Gambling Commission on affordability checks has become progressively more scarce since the regulator's consultation on the subject closed in October, certainly since the turn of the year.

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes did say in the autumn it was hoped the commission would report back on the consultation in the new year, which is likely to happen in the first quarter of the year. 

Andrew Rhodes: said he expected Gambling Commission to report back on consultation in the new year

It cannot be any slower than the response to the consultation it carried out on affordability checks in 2021, given that it has yet to appear the best part of three years later. 

The reason given last year for the lack of disclosure was that there was no public interest in releasing the information. Quite how that tallies with the government's Regulators' Code which tells bodies like the commission that they should ensure their approach to regulatory activities is "transparent" is another question.

Nevertheless, there will be plenty of public interest in the commission's report on the most recent consultation, as illustrated by the response to the petition launched by Jockey Club chief executive Nevin Truesdale, and it is to be hoped the regulator has been open to the points made by those concerned about the proposals. There have been worrying signs the commission might try to dismiss them based on spurious claims of "misinformation".

One potential announcement that might come is one about an interim system standardising the affordability checks that operators have introduced in anticipation of the measures contained in the white paper.

Those checks, for which nobody has taken any responsibility for mandating, have already had an impact on betting, especially on racing, with betting turnover on the sport falling by £900 million in 2022-23 according to the Gambling Commission's own statistics. That trend has continued, with racing estimating a further fall in turnover of 15 to 20 per cent year on year.

One of the many frustrations with the checks in place currently is the lack of consistency in the way they are implemented by different operators. That has been recognised by the government, with Andrew telling the House of Commons in November that "it is the current system that is inconsistent, and we want to bring some uniformity to it".

The betting industry and Gambling Commission have been working on a plan to create a more uniform system, but again there has been no news of where it has got to in recent weeks and, as a result, the ad hoc arrangements will continue, much to the frustration of punters and racing.

Any interim system would be in place until the promised 'frictionless' method for carrying out enhanced affordability checks is created, trialled and then rolled out across the industry.

There will be plenty of people who claim to have a frictionless solution to this issue but it is easier said than done. Many of the potential solutions involve open banking, but that still requires a customer to give their permission, which means it is not frictionless.

There are many who believe a truly frictionless system is going to be very difficult to achieve, certainly to the extent that bookmakers may still have to ask for personal information in order to meet the Gambling Commission's standards.

One issue which Andrew would no doubt like to have resolved in order to have something to placate British racing's leadership is levy reform. The government has recognised its affordability proposals will hit the sport's finances, although its figure appears to be a gross underestimation of the true impact, and has been trying to get racing and bookmakers to come up with a solution.

However, those talks have been hard going, with bookmakers reluctant to accept British racing's calls for around an extra £30m in levy payments per year.

Ministers have been happy to leave the Gambling Commission, bookmakers and racing's leadership to try to come up with solutions to issues such a standardised interim system of affordability checks and the levy. No doubt they would like to get the subject of gambling reform off their desks. After all, the government's gambling review was launched in December 2020.

However, Andrew might have to start banging a few heads together to get some progress.

Otherwise he might feel a little uncomfortable when he stands up to speak at the February 26 debate.

This column is exclusive to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Members can read more columns by Bill Barber here:

Premier racing may come riding to the rescue for the Flat - but it's not a model that's likely to work for the jumps 

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