The British government’s long-awaited white paper on gambling regulation was published on Thursday morning. Here we analyse the key proposals and assess what they mean for punters, racing and the betting industry

Affordability

What the white paper says: The white paper proposes two thresholds at which checks should take place. The first is a “moderate loss threshold” at either £125 net loss in a rolling month period or £500 net loss within a rolling year period. At this point open source indicators of “financial vulnerability” such as County Court Judgements, average postcode affluence and bankruptcies will be checked.

The second check will be triggered by what the white paper describes as “binge gambling”, a net £1,000 loss in a 24-hour period, and will entail an “enhanced spending check”. According to the government paper, the Gambling Commission is working with the financial services sector to explore how this will work, but “the expectation is that the majority [of checks] would involve credit reference agencies and would not interrupt the customer journey unless the check raises concerns”. However, the white paper notes that “information may need to be collected directly from the customer” when frictionless checks fail to provide enough information.

The Gambling Commission will consult on the proposed thresholds, and also consider a proposed £2,000 net loss threshold within a 90-day period that would trigger the same checks as a £1,000 net loss in a 24-hour period.

The proposals include what the government described as “background checks at moderate levels of spend”Credit: Alan Crowhurst / Getty Images

What it means: Compared to the £100 loss limit and hard checks that the Gambling Commission once proposed should take place at that level of spend, the government proposals are clearly less draconian. The enhanced checks triggered at £1,000 or £2,000 are difficult to assess, though. While the white paper says these checks should be “frictionless”, it is clear the precise mechanics required to meet this ambition have yet to be fully set down, raising the prospect that higher-staking bettors will continue to receive demands for sensitive financial documents.

The white paper states that Gambling Commission data suggests 20 per cent of accounts would be subject to a financial vulnerability assessment and around three per cent of accounts subject to an enhanced check. The Racing Post’s Big Punting Survey poll, carried out earlier this year, found one in six respondents had already been asked to carry out an affordability check.

The government expects that credit reference agencies can carry out all those financial vulnerability assessments in a “frictionless” manner and will also be able to handle the enhanced checks in 80 per cent of cases. For the remaining 20 per cent of cases where enchanced checks are required, half can be dealt with by what the white paper calls “semi-agreeable checks” (open banking is cited as an example) and the other half by “disagreeable checks”, such as requests for payslips or bank statements.

Levy reform

What the white paper says: The government has begun the process of reviewing the levy, which it says will be completed by 2024. Following representations from racing, the government will consider extending the levy to all international racing bet on by British customers, as well as potentially adjusting the levy so it is based on a percentage of turnover, rather than profits.

What it means: The commitment to reforming the levy is not a new one; when the levy was last reformed in 2017, the government set itself a further review date of April 2024. Nevertheless, racing will welcome the government’s recognition of the importance of the sport culturally and to the rural economy, as well as the consideration being given to the  extension of the levy to international racing and the adjustment to a percentage of turnover, which should result in less volatility in yields. However, the proposals will only offset likely reduction in yields from the other measures proposed in the white paper; the government acknowledges that Levy Board reserves may need to be used to address any “funding gap” racing suffers in the interim.

Free bets

What the white paper says: The Gambling Commission has recently strengthened restrictions on online VIP schemes to make sure they are not used to exploit gamblers, and has introduced rules to stop bonus offers and other marketing being targeted at people showing significant indicators of harm. It will now take forward work to review the design and targeting of incentives such as free bets and bonuses to ensure there are clear rules and fair limits on re-wagering requirements and time limits so they do not encourage excessive or harmful gambling. 

What it means: Another consultation by the Gambling Commission to determine what restrictions may be necessary. The white paper cites a Commission survey in which 31 per cent of respondents who had received a promotional offer said that free bets or bonus offers encouraged them to gamble more than they wanted to – that figure rose to 77 per cent for those classified as problem gamblers.

On the other hand, one betting firm reported from its own data that rates of harm did not differ between customers who had created their account with a sign-up bonus and those who had not. Another said it had found no correlation between receiving cashback bonuses and self-exclusion. The white paper refers to these as “limited evidence” and calls for a greater evidence base.

The government is interested in cutting back on the strings which may be attached to free bets. The white paper notes: “Re-wagering requirements are still often set at high thresholds – for example, a bonus of £10 with a 50x wagering requirement requires the customer to bet £500, and the funds, including any winnings, can often expire after a given time limit – often as brief as seven days.” The white paper deplores the creation of “a sense of urgency to gamble”. The Commission is to consult on this, considering caps on wagering requirements and minimum time limits before offers expire.

This story is being updated and more news will follow shortly. You can also follow the Racing Post on Twitter (@RacingPost) to get the latest alerts

Read more:

Government announces ‘frictionless’ financial risk checks in long-awaited white paper 

Three years, six ministers and one white paper: how we got here 

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