Single customer view trial to be led by GAMSTOP
Data sharing scheme to be overseen by self-exclusion register despite mounting concerns over customer data leakage
Self-exclusion platform GAMSTOP will run an initial trial of the single customer view (SCV) scheme as UK operators look to establish a cross-industry data sharing hub.
SCV is designed to provide a holistic view of customers’ online gambling behaviours which can then be shared with other operators as well as the UK Gambling Commission to mitigate gambling-related harm and risk.
The scheme was given the greenlight by the Information Commissioner’s Office in October 2021 after the body ruled a SCV would not breach existing GDPR regulations.
The trial is now underway, and the system is set to be ready for testing by the end of March 2022. GAMSTOP’s self-exclusion register will continue to run separately from the SCV trial.
The initial trial to be run by GAMSTOP will aim to identify those customers at risk of harm and ensure they are blocked from opening accounts with regulated operators.
Writing in The Times (on 1 February), the Betting and Gaming Council’s Wes Himes said: “While many companies put forward proposals for this system, it was clear that GAMSTOP stood out from the rest. It is uniquely placed as it operates the online gambling self-exclusion scheme, which has helped more than 250,000 people over the past five years.
“The trial scheme will prevent customers who have exhibited signs of severe problem gambling, or of being at a high risk, from simply moving to another operator without appropriate interventions being undertaken.
“For some customers this may mean additional safeguards, whereas for others they may be prevented from betting entirely with other operators,” he added.
Despite the confirmation of the SCV scheme’s progress there remains concerns over the sharing of customer data from gambling firms.
Last week a report from Clean Up Gambling suggested one operator had shared more than 2,000 data transmissions from one customer to 44 different third-party companies.
The report also claimed data shared with third parties allowed companies to develop personal profiles of customers including notes on their propensity to gambling, their favourite games and their susceptibility to marketing efforts.