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  3. Exploring gambler attitudes towards Financial Vulnerability and Financial Risk Check proposals

Report

Exploring gambler attitudes towards Financial Vulnerability and Financial Risk Check proposals

The Gambling Commission’s report on the attitudes and opinions of online gamblers regarding the proposals for financial vulnerability and financial risk checks.

Published
1 May 2024

Last updated
1 May 2024 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. Annex: Financial risk stimulus pack
  3. 2 - Background to the proposals

2 - Background to the proposals

Some background: where all this is coming from

The government and the gambling regulator want to 'protect the most vulnerable while also allowing everyone else to enjoy gambling without harm'.

They have seen cases where very significant gambling losses took place without any checks.

Therefore, the government have decided some checks are necessary to identify consumers who may be harmed by gambling.

Overview of the consultation and why we are here today

To take forward the government decision that checks are necessary, the gambling regulator has proposed a new targeted system of financial risk checks.

The proposals have been designed to be proportionate to the risk of harm and as frictionless as possible for consumers.

The gambling regulator is consulting on how these checks could work and want your views.

Some of the details can change at the end of the consultation.

The proposals have been designed to tackle 3 key risks of gambling harm, that have been identified by the gambling regulator though their casework, these are:

  1. Financially vulnerable customers
  2. Binge gambling
  3. Significant unaffordable losses over time.

Overview of gambling activity in the UK

Some further context for these proposals is the reality that 'most online gamblers have relatively modest losses’.

This is confirmed in a published report (opens in new tab) of customer account data which found that between July 2018 and July 2019:

  • 21 percent of accounts made a net gain
  • 60 percent lost less than £200
  • 13 percent lost between £200 and £1,000
  • 5 percent lost between £1,000 and £5,000
  • and around 1 percent lost more than £5,000.

These figures have been taken into account in the design of the proposals.

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Financial vulnerability checks
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