Inconsistent results continue to plague Gambling Commission frictionless checks pilot

The pilot of frictionless affordability checks continues to throw up inconsistent results from credit reference agencies (CRAs), the Gambling Commission admitted on Wednesday.

In an update following the second stage of the pilot, the commission said it had moved on to an analysis phase that will run into the summer before a final decision is made on whether – and how – the checks could be introduced. 

In its last update in February the commission said the checks had the potential to cause confusion as the various CRAs could produce different findings for the same individual.

Those comments raised concerns that far more people could end up being asked for personal information to prove they can afford their level of gambling spend.

In a blog update on stage two of the pilot published on Wednesday, the Gambling Commission's director of major policy projects Helen Rhodes said the issue had not been resolved.

The pilot of the checks, which the commission prefers to call financial risk assessments, was launched in September and involves a group of the largest online bookmakers, although it is not in a live environment.

The first stage involved inactive customers and was aimed at testing how operators prepared data for the CRAs and how the data was returned.

Stage two involved around 1.7 million checks across three credit reference agencies, in relation to approximately 860,000 accounts, although the commission added that was not indicative of how many accounts might be assessed if the checks went live.

The blog said 97 per cent of assessments were possible in a frictionless manner in stage two, compared with 95 per cent in stage one.

Stage three of the pilot is now at the reporting stage, with data sharing having been completed on April 30. The analysis phase will "further explore how the assessments could be targeted where there is most financial risk".

'Operators continued to see differing results'

However, the commission added that it would also explore "how any unnecessary inconsistency between credit reference agencies could be reduced and how operators could be supported in any future implementation".

Rhodes said: "Operators continued to see differing results from different credit reference agencies without as yet sufficient information to understand the reasons why there might be differing results. This will be a key focus for the post-stage three analysis phase."

She added that the commission believed more could be done to allow CRAs "to make refinements to their gambling-specific models to reduce any unnecessary variation or confusion".

The commission claimed that should the proposed thresholds for the checks be introduced, a frictionless check would not be possible for just one customer in every 1,000 accounts.

It also said that CRA data had shed more light on the financial risk profile of the customers who met the thresholds for the pilot, with them being between twice and four times more likely to have a debt management plan and between twice and five times more likely to have a default in the last 12 months compared with the general population. 

Rhodes said: “These further findings from the pilot have helped us understand the extent that assessments could be conducted in a frictionless manner.

“Building on our staged approach to the pilot, we will now further explore data consistency across credit reference agencies, as well as how to support operators to identify the severity of financial difficulties that a customer may be experiencing and how they could support these customers.”

Read these next:

Frictionless affordability checks pilot shows potential for 'confusion' - Gambling Commission 

Brant Dunshea: BHA will ask Gambling Commission to be fully transparent over affordability checks pilot 

Premier racing half-term report: affordability checks blamed for drop in average turnover at major festivals 

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