British gambling operators have threatened to sue the regulator over new financial audits
The UK Gambling and Betting Council (BGC), which represents the market’s largest operators, has threatened to sue the Gambling Commission over plans to introduce new financial checks on players.
This was reported by iGaming Expert.
The issue concerns a financial risk assessment system that the British regulator may approve on May 21. Under the plan, automatic checks would be triggered when a player reaches a certain spending threshold, and data from credit agencies would be used to assess their financial situation.
The BGC considers such measures excessive and potentially harmful to the legal market. They claim that not 3% of customers, as the regulator asserts, but about 20% could be subject to checks.
The association fears that some customers will be unwilling to disclose financial information and will switch to illegal operators.
BGC Head Graine Hurst stated that the results of the pilot testing revealed issues with the quality of credit agency data, and the mechanism itself may prove unsuitable for use.
The Gambling Commission, however, insists that the checks will affect only a small portion of accounts with the highest spending and will be “painless” for most users.
Separately, the regulator also plans to lower the threshold for existing financial vulnerability checks from £500 to £150 over 30 days.
Earlier in Ukraine, the first specialized institution opened to provide comprehensive assistance to people at risk of gambling addiction, their families and loved ones, as well as to implement scientific and educational projects on the prevention of gambling addiction—the Center for Social and Psychological Support “Prostir Zhyttia. Life Space.” The project was implemented with the support of socially responsible businesses.
