Financial vulnerability checks to figure in gambling white paper set to be published today

Government proposals that punters who lose more than £125 a day will face "financial vulnerability checks" are set to be published later on Thursday, according to a newspaper report.

The long-delayed gambling white paper is also set to include plans for a levy on operators to pay for the treatment of those harmed by gambling and cuts to the maximum stakes for online slot games.

Writing in The Times, culture secretary Lucy Frazer said that gambling regulations were "not up to the task of protecting people in the age of the smartphone" and that the white paper included measures designed to "redress the power imbalance between punters and operators".

The subject of affordability checks has been one of the most controversial aspects of the government's gambling review, with campaigners having called for punters to have to prove they could afford gambling losses of as low as £100 a month.

British racing's leadership has warned that blanket affordability checks would be "highly damaging" to the sport's finances, while racecourse group Arena Racing Company last year estimated the sport was losing £40 million per annum from checks already put in place by bookmakers involving requests for personal financial information such as bank statements.

The Times claimed that the financial vulnerability checks would establish whether customers had previously been declared bankrupt or had a county court judgment against them.

More extensive checks would take place for those sustaining losses of £1,000 in a day or £2,000 over 90 days.

Frazer said the government was aiming for a balanced approach "to protect the most vulnerable, but not get in the way of the majority of people who want to have a flutter". 

She added: "We live in a freedom-loving democracy where, for the overwhelming majority of adults, betting is a bit of fun and it doesn't come with ruinous consequences. But one that also recognises that our regulations are not up to the task of protecting people in the age of the smartphone. 

"There are blindspots in the system that are being exploited, keeping addicts addicted and disproportionately impacting some of our communities who are least able to afford it."

The government launched its gambling review in December 2020 with a call for evidence which received 16,000 responses.

A white paper setting out the government's plans was expected to be published by Christmas 2021 but a succession of ministerial changes at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) resulted in publication being repeatedly postponed.

Ministers are set to consult on a number of the proposals contained in the white paper but The Times reported that this has raised concerns with campaigners demanding immediate action.

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the newspaper: "Consultations are a cop-out. I just don't know what we've got to consult on any longer. What is there we don't know about the gambling industry and their abuses?"

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Long-awaited gambling white paper expected to be published on Thursday 

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