Lack of parliamentary scrutiny of affordability checks 'beggars belief', says BHA

Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources or find out more here

The BHA has said it "beggars belief" that the implementation of affordability checks by the Gambling Commission will not be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

Both British racing and the gambling industry are waiting for the commission's board to reveal whether it has given the go-ahead for the controversial measures, also known as financial risk assessments.

The checks were first officially proposed in the last Conservative government's white paper of 2023 and were subject to a pilot by the Gambling Commission which started the following year.

However, the gambling industry has warned the checks will not meet the promise they will be frictionless due to inconsistent results from credit reference agencies, which mean operators will have to request financial documents from customers.

The Gambling Commission board met last month to discuss the checks but delayed a decision on whether to give them the go-ahead to allow more time to consider the evidence. The board is understood to have met again last week.

The BHA's director of communications and corporate affairs Greg Swift told a briefing to journalists on Thursday: "The previous government said the overwhelming majority of the white paper would be implemented via secondary legislation, the checks would not be introduced unless they were fully frictionless and it would be the government that signed off on the introduction of the checks.

The Gambling Commission board delayed a decision on whether to implement affordability checks in May

"They were absolutely crystal clear on all of those three points. The current administration has not either publicly or indeed privately said it has changed its approach, so those three things should still apply."

Swift said the checks had not proved to be frictionless and, while a statutory levy on the gambling industry to tackle problem gambling had been introduced using secondary legislation, the government was "not allowing any parliamentary scrutiny of a decision that will not be taken by government but by the Gambling Commission".

He added: "We are talking about a decision that will significantly impact two multi-billion-pound industries that employ close to 200,000 people across the country.

"From our perspective, and I have spelt this out in very clear terms to DCMS, it beggars belief that a decision of such magnitude can be taken without there being parliamentary scrutiny.

"There are 59 racecourse MPs for starters, all of whose constituencies will be impacted by this decision."

Swift claimed affordability checks could have a "significant impact" in driving more betting activity into the unlicensed sector and that black market operators were already advertising themselves as being friction- and check-free.

He conceded the intention of the policy to protect people from gambling harm was right but added: "The policy, as has been proposed, has been developed and is at risk of being implemented, actually has the unintended consequence of driving more people into the sector where they are more likely to suffer gambling harm."

The subject of gambling advertising regulation was discussed by a House of Lords committee last week, and the BHA was asked whether that posed potentially as great a risk as affordability checks.

Swift played down such concerns, adding: "There is very clear recognition in parliament, even among those who have a view about gambling advertising, that racing is a very distinct market." 

Brant Dunshea: Tackling advertising by black market operators should be the priorityCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

BHA chief executive Brant Dunshea added: "If there was a concerted effort to address the advertising by illegal gambling operators, that deals with half the issue straight away.

"My position would be that if there were to be any regulations in relation to advertising they would need to focus on the black market because that addresses both issues – it addresses concerns around advertising but also that migration to, and growth of, the black market."

Read these next:

Decision on affordability checks discussed at Gambling Commission board meeting 

Affordability checks evidence needs to be made public to address 'trust deficit', says BHA 

Gambling Commission delays decision on affordability checks as board says it needs more time to assess the evidence 

Sign up to your choice of our free and RP+ newsletters

Racing Post+ Ultimate subscribers can get a fantastic mix of news, tips, comment and insight sent straight to their inbox every day, from Chris Cook's award-winning morning newsletter The Front Runner every weekday at 7.30am and our unmissable daily form package The Edge at 8am, to different weekly emails from the likes of Tom Segal, Paul Kealy and Lee Mottershead every evening at 6pm as part of The Ultimate Daily.

Also available to arrive direct to your inbox free of charge are the likes of On The Nose, our daily morning news bulletin, The Ante-Postman, in which tipster Robbie Wilders outlines his best long-range bets every Wednesday, and The Punt, our essential Saturday tipping service delivered every Friday evening at 7pm.

Head here now to view our full range of newsletters.