GPWAtimes.org 30 ublished in April 2023, the U.K.’s Gambling Act White Paper “High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age” set out a wide range of proposals for reform of gambling laws in the U.K. The proposals did not include any which would directly affect affiliate advertisers, in particular the White Paper did not take forward suggestions that the Gambling Commission should license and regulate affiliates. Nevertheless, a number of the White Paper’s proposals have significant implications for the U.K. gambling industry, its marketing activities, and revenues. As significant progress has now been made towards implementing many of these proposals over the last year-plus, it’s a good time to examine where things stand. Affordability – a short history One of the most highly-anticipated outcomes of the White Paper is a conclusion to the long-running debate about affordability assessments, more recently rebranded as “financial risk checks.” The first formal indication that gambling operators should be assessing customers’ ability to afford their gambling came in the Gambling Commission’s enforcement report for the financial year 2018-19. This recommended that operators reassess their financial triggers to consider their customer base and individual customer’s disposable income. The following year, the enforcement report stated that “Customers wishing to spend more than the national average should be asked to provide information to support a higher affordability trigger such as three months’ payslips, P60s, tax returns or bank statements.” This position was reiterated by Commission staff members carrying out compliance assessments and enforcement activity, leading to operators adopting a variety of approaches depending on their interpretation of the Commission’s comments and their recent engagement with its enforcement team. A customer interaction consultation exercise was launched by the Commission in 2021, which proposed that operators would be required to conduct affordability assessments at thresholds set by the Commission, with those levels to be determined following a call for evidence. It was hoped this would bring an end to the inconsistent approach adopted by operators and some of the frustration felt by customers, who often could not understand the reason for intrusive requests for copies of their payslips, bank statements, or tax returns. In 2022, the Commission concluded the wider consultation exercise of which this was part but stated that the issues raised in relation to affordability would be addressed in a future consultation. This future consultation seemed to be on the back burner, but in the meantime the Government began its review of the Gambling Act 2005. It soon became apparent that the issue of affordability had been subsumed into this wider review. Statements such as that by then gambling Minister Paul Scully in early 2023 that “‘affordability checks’ is the wrong title for the protections we’re envisaging” and “it is not the role of government or the Gambling Commission to tell people how much of their salary they are ‘allowed to’ spend on gambling” seemed at odds with the Commission’s views, as expressed in its enforcement reports and regulatory activity. However, the Commission quickly adopted this same language and, when it finally launched the promised consultation last summer, following the publication of the White Paper, it rebranded affordability assessments to “financial risk checks.” Financial risk checks The Commission concluded this consultation exercise in April 2024, publishing a summary of responses received and its draft new LCCP provisions. As anticipated by the White Paper, remote gambling operators will need to carry out a “light touch check” on any customer who has a net deposit position (deposits less UK GAMBLING WHITE PAPER One of the most highly-anticipated outcomes of the White Paper is a conclusion to the long-running debate about affordability assessments, more recently rebranded as “financial risk checks.”
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