UK gamblers face new financial checks on high spending

The Gambling Commission will require financial risk assessments for online gamblers who lose more than £1,000 in a single day, or £3,000 over three months. Lower thresholds apply to customers under 25.

The assessments pull data from credit reference agencies. The regulator insists they are not affordability checks. Operators will use the information to flag customers showing signs of financial distress or harm.

Sarah Gardner, the commission's acting chief executive, said the vast majority of customers would never need an assessment. Those who do will get a frictionless, document-free check that does not affect their credit score, she said.

The rollout is staged. The first phase targets over-25s who lose more than £5,000 in a 24-hour window – a group the commission says covers less than 0.5% of customers. That phase begins after engagement with companies and other stakeholders over the summer. The lower £1,000 threshold comes later.

The commission cited data showing high-spending gamblers are two to four times more likely to have a debt management plan, and two to five times more likely to have a default in the previous 12 months, compared with the wider population.

Gardner acknowledged that stakeholders worry tighter rules could push problem gamblers toward unregulated black-market sites. She called affordability checks "deeply unpopular" with gamblers, which is why the commission framed the new regime as risk assessments rather than income checks.

The changes follow a 2023 white paper on gambling reform that recommended enhanced checks on customers experiencing very high losses. No firm timeline has been set for the full rollout. The commission said the rules will be introduced in a "very careful, staged way."