Gambling Minister: Affordability checks to be “proportionate”

Gambling Minister Chris Philp MP has said affordability checks will be “proportionate and pitched at the right level” ahead of the upcoming white paper on the Gambling Act 2005 review.

Philp, speaking in a House of Commons debate on the review in light of the tragic death of Jack Ritchie, said that measures need to be taken to protect young people from gambling-related harm.

Philp said: “The evidence that we have seen makes the case that we need to go significantly further to make sure that people are appropriately protected.

“I know that all of us in this House will be profoundly and powerfully conscious of our duty and our obligation to protect young people,” he added.

Touching on affordability checks as one of those potential measures, Philp once again would not be drawn into a ballpark figure of what the limit might be set at.

During the debate, Labour MP Paul Blomfield citied research from the Social Market Foundation and its proposals for a £100 limit.

Responding to Blomfield, Philp said: “[Affordability checks] need to be proportionate and pitched at the right level, but they have a really important role in making sure that some of the situations that I have mentioned, and situations like Jack Ritchie’s, do not occur.

“The data is available if operators properly use it and if the Gambling Commission has proper access to it to deliver that result. That should be a very significant area of attention in the gambling act review that is coming up very shortly,” he added.

Philp had previously quashed the idea of a £100 limit in December 2021.

At the time he said: “Demanding payslips or bank statements from every customer spending £100 or so is likely to be unwelcome, disruptive and disproportionate to the risks.”

In another potential hint as to what verticals may bear the brunt of the review, Philp said online casino games were “significantly more risky” than other forms of gambling.

He said: “Clearly, a great deal has changed in the 17 years since 2005 when that act was passed, not least the explosion of internet gambling.

“The nature of the online games, the fact that people can access them 24/7, the fact that frequency of play is very high, and the look and feel of some of the features make them significantly more risky than other forms of gambling, such as gambling in person at a racecourse, playing bingo or playing the National Lottery.

“All those things can be addictive, but the online games have a much higher risk,” he added.