“Light touch” affordability checks confirmed at £125 net deposit a month amid host of white paper changes

The Gambling Commission (GC) has revealed a six-month pilot scheme for enhanced affordability checks while confirming “light touch” checks will begin with net deposits of £150 a month.

The regulator has confirmed a host of changes to the UK gambling sector which will be introduced in four tranches between August and February 2025.

The GC said the changes were “consistent” with the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review, which was released last April, and that the measures would boost customer safety.

The much-maligned affordability checks have now been given some extra information after a period of uncertainty, with the GC noting that the measure’s introduction is needed to “give people the opportunity to gamble safely, while protecting people from gambling-related harm”.

The “light touch” financial risk checks had originally been planned for a £500 net loss within a one-year period or £125 within a 30-day period.

However, the GC has confirmed today, 1 May, this level of check will begin at a £500 net deposit per month from August, before reducing to a £150 net deposit on 28 February 2025.

The regulator said this level of check would only use “publicly available data” and that following the consultation period, gambling firms will not be required to consider an individual’s personal details such as postcode or job title.

However, the upper level of financial risk checks have not yet been given the same level of clarity as the lower level in today’s announcement.

Previous expectations for the upper level of checks have been at a net loss of more than £1,000 in a rolling 24-hour period or £2,000 in a rolling 90-day window.

The GC will carry out a six-month pilot test, after which it will decide whether “permanent rules” will be introduced.

The regulator again insisted this would not be done until data sharing is truly frictionless for the “vast majority of customers who are being checked”.

The pilot will explore the possibility of this frictionless goal, with assessments being put in place to work with credit reference agencies and gambling firms.

The GC said that via data collection it would be able to “explore the exact financial thresholds the assessments would be conducted at”.

The pilot assessments are not being rolled out in a live environment, the GC confirmed.

Secondly, new rules around the speed and intensity of online casino games will be introduced, to bring them in line with existing regulations around slots.

This will include a ban on autoplay, celebrations for returns less than or equal to the stake, playing multiple products simultaneously, spin speeds of less than five seconds (including poker), and features which speed up the time for results to be shown.

The GC said further changes would also be introduced in the future that will require operators to display to users real-time net spend and time spent gambling.

The changes around online casino will come into force on 17 January 2025.

The GC also revealed its plans to tackle direct marketing, with the regulator insisting it would allow for greater consumer choice.

Operators will need to provide customers with options to opt-in to the product type they are interested in in receiving ads for, and through which channels these ads will be delivered.

The GC said: “The aim is to empower customers by giving them more control over the direct gambling marketing they wish to receive and ensure they do not receive marketing that they do not want.”

Operators will be required to implement these changes from 17 January 2025, with the measures only applying to online gambling.

In terms of retail operations, the GC has ruled that all land-based licensees must carry out age verification test purchasing.

Additionally, retail staff will be required to follow procedures to check the age of any customer who appears under the age of 25, in line with tobacco and alcohol, rather than the current 21-years-old check.

That requirement will come into effect on 30 August.

Finally, the GC confirmed it would extend the management roles expected to hold a personal management licence at UK-licensed firms. That new provision will come into force on 30 November.

Andrew Rhodes, GC CEO, said: “As a gambling regulator it’s vital that the introduction of new rules is based on evidence and takes into account the views of consumers and other interested parties.

“We have listened to the views expressed in our engagement and in the consultation responses, and we have made changes while still ensuring that we deliver meaningful protections. 

“We are also pleased to be taking forward a pilot of financial risk assessments and data collection, which together will ensure that we can make informed decisions about how these assessments can be implemented in a way that supports both consumer freedom and protections.

“We have to get the balance right between protecting people from the potentially life-ruining effects of gambling-related harm and respecting the freedom of adults to engage in an activity that the vast majority do so without experiencing harm.”