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.
3 - Financial vulnerability checks
A basic check using publicly available data to identify significant red flags of financial vulnerability (for example, bankruptcy).
(The following information was provided to focus group participants; this does not represent the Gambling Commission definition of the term net loss.)
These checks would be conducted when a customer's net loss is more than:
- £125 in a rolling 30-day period
- £500 in a rolling 365-day period.
(‘Net loss’ is the loss of deposited money with a particular operator, in the defined timeframe.)
Gambling and deposits may continue while the check takes place.
The customer would not need to provide any information to the gambling operator to support these checks but would be informed.
It would use publicly available data to see if someone is subject to one of the following orders, regarding a history of unpaid debts such as a bankruptcy order or a County Court Judgment (CCJ).
Once completed, it will be valid for the next 12 months, and not need to be repeated unless thresholds were crossed again after the 12 months.
What happens off the back of a check?
For most people who have the check – no risk is identified, and nothing happens at all.
If there are risk flags such as a bankruptcy order, the operator might contact you to discuss and encourage you to set a limit, or if there are serious risk flags, they might set a deposit limit.
What does ‘net loss’ mean?
Net loss is the loss of deposited money with a particular operator, in a defined timeframe:
- this does not include the loss of re-staked winnings or the loss of accrued bonus funds
- a bet would only be counted as a loss when it is settled as a loser.
An example of net loss during a betting period
| Activity | Winnings | Account balance |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit £50 | £0 | £50 |
| Bet (evens) £25 | £25 (plus stake returned) | £75 |
| Bet (evens) £40 | £0 lost bet | £35 |
| Bet (evens) £10 | £10 (plus stake returned) | £45 |
| Bet (evens) £25 | £0 lost bet | £20 |
Net loss during betting period: £30
What does the check involve?
Publicly available data will be used to assess if someone is particularly financially vulnerable.
The check will look to see if someone is subject to one of the following orders, regarding a history of unpaid debts:
- a bankruptcy order
- a CCJ, individual voluntary arrangement, high court judgement, administration order or decree. This type of check does not engage a credit reference provider and would not leave a trace or impact on your credit score
- this type of data will only capture significant financial vulnerability. There may be people struggling who do not have bankruptcy orders or outstanding CCJs.
Scenario 1
Alice enjoys playing online slot games. She tends to play a few times a week, depositing small amounts in her account each time. She has been up and down, with some wins and losses, but overall has not had the best month, and one weekend she gets to the threshold of losing over £125 in a 30-day period.
Because she has passed the threshold, Alice’s online gambling provider has been triggered to conduct a financial vulnerability check. Alice’s gambling provider uses publicly available data to assess if she is financially vulnerable (for example, checks there are no active bankruptcy orders against her). Alice can continue gambling and deposit additional funds into her account whilst the check is taking place.
It turns out Alice’s check is fine, nothing further happens and she will not have to have another check unless she reaches the thresholds again after 12 months have passed.
Scenario 2
Sam places a series of online bets every weekend on the football. He deposits £15 each weekend, and stakes that amount over various different matches. Whilst he has some wins, he mainly has a series of losses whilst his team are not performing well in the league. He ends up losing a total of £520 in 6 months.
Because he has lost over £500 in a 365-day period, Sam’s online gambling provider has been triggered to conduct a financial vulnerability check.
Sam’s gambling provider uses publicly available data to assess if he is financially vulnerable (for example, checks there are no active bankruptcy orders against him).
Sam is able to continue gambling and deposit additional funds into his account whist the check is taking place.
It turns out Sam’s check is fine, nothing further happens and he will not have to have another check unless he reaches the thresholds again after 12 months have passed.
Financial vulnerable customers
An example of where current practices and/or regulation has missed identifying a customer who was at risk due to being financially vulnerable:
There was an individual who never bet more than £50 with an average stake of £8.01, which may seem like a relatively low amount.
However, this gambling was allowed to continue after there were instances of unpaid debt and bankruptcy.
This continued gambling worsened financial issues for this customer at a particularly vulnerable point.
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Financial risk assessments
Last updated: 31 January 2025
Show updates to this content
Clarification added around the net loss definition.