Dr. James Noyce, a leading UK gambling reform advocate, has called on the government to pause affordability checks. Noyce claims the Gambling Commission has not been transparent about how the checks are being implemented. He also echoed claims from horse racing authorities that the checks are damaging the industry, which forms an important part of British culture.
Noyce shared an open letter sent to UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on X yesterday. Originally, Noyce was one of the leading voices calling for the introduction of affordability checks. He said the checks are necessary to protect the vulnerable from gambling beyond their means.
However, he is now concerned that the implementation is not effective and is having adverse effects on the British horse racing industry.
“I am particularly alarmed by reports that these checks will prove unnecessarily burdensome to horseracing bettors, to the detriment of that sport,” wrote Noyce.
Last week, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) launched a “Save our Bets” campaign against the affordability checks.
Joyce ended his letter stating that he is “calling on the Government to pay heed to the BHA’s warnings, and to pause these checks until there has been adequate evaluation and scrutiny.”
What are the Controversial Checks?
The UK Gambling Commission has been trialing increased financial checks on bettors. Between August 2024 and February 2025, alerts would be triggered where the customer’s deposits minus withdrawals exceeded £500 in a rolling 30-day period. In February last year, the threshold was reduced to £150.
One criticism is that the Commission has not published a report detailing the trial’s results. Noyes stated, “I am deeply concerned over the lack of transparency regarding these checks.”
The UKGC launched an expanded Consumer Voice framework last year, aiming to develop better, evidence-based gambling policies informed by authentic consumer feedback. However, Noyes alleges it is proceeding with the affordability checks despite widespread opposition.
He notes that “a Gambling Commission survey of over 12,000 people found 77 per cent of respondents were opposed to financial risk checks.”
Checks Collect Personal Financial Data
“A financial vulnerability check must include at a minimum a customer-specific public record information check for significant indicators of potential financial vulnerability,” says the Gambling Commission directives.
The trial was supposed to test how the checks could be “frictionless,” implemented without users having to supply financial information to keep betting.
Noyes advocated for the checks back in 2020, but says times have changed, with users now wary of sharing sensitive personal information.
“Since 2020, we have seen a global pandemic which has affected gambling consumer behaviour, we have seen a range of financial shocks and fiscal challenges, we have seen increasing concerns over the use and misuse of data in a changing digital landscape,” he wrote in the letter.
The BHA noted that differing credit scores for the same individual would force operators to ask some users to submit evidence, such as payslips and bank statements.
What’s the Alternative?
Gambling companies have faced criticism for allowing, or even encouraging, users to deposit large sums of money into betting accounts. In the UK, bet365 was recently implicated in a 19-year-old’s death, with the user’s gambling addiction deemed to be a decisive factor that led to his suicide.
If affordability checks are paused, as Noyes urges, then platforms may be less inclined to intervene in such cases in the future. Without evidence of a user’s financial situation, it is unclear how a company could determine if a user is gambling beyond their means.
While for some losing thousands or even millions of dollars might be completely fine, for others losing even a small amount can have dire implications for an individual’s life.
In the bet365 case, the 19-year-old’s account was overall in positive, but a coroner concluded that he had “exhausted all viable funds and credit” available to him. Would increased affordability checks have protected him?
The backlash to the checks underscores the delicate balance regulators must strike between consumer protection and personal freedom.
The post UK Affordability Checks Deeply Concerning, Says Gambling Reform Advocate appeared first on CasinoBeats.
Dr. James Noyce, a leading UK gambling reform advocate, has called on the government to pause affordability checks. Noyce claims the Gambling Commission has not been transparent about how the checks are being implemented. He also echoed claims from horse racing authorities that the checks are damaging the industry, which forms an important part of
The post UK Affordability Checks Deeply Concerning, Says Gambling Reform Advocate appeared first on CasinoBeats.