The Gambling Commission has confirmed that Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) will be introduced through a gradual implementation process aimed at identifying gambling customers who may be experiencing financial difficulties.
The regulator said the new system will focus on high-spending customers and provide operators with additional information to help determine when intervention may be needed. The move follows consultation with industry representatives, stakeholders and a pilot programme designed to test how assessments could work in practice.
The Commission said research indicates that customers with high gambling expenditure face greater financial risks than the wider population. According to the regulator, these customers are between two and four times more likely to have a debt management plan and between two and five times more likely to have experienced a credit default during the previous 12 months.
The regulator stated that without effective identification, some financially vulnerable customers may continue receiving gambling promotions and marketing communications that encourage further activity.
Initial rollout will focus on highest spending customers
The first stage of implementation will apply to the largest gambling operators and will focus on customers with exceptionally high spending levels. Under this phase, assessments will apply when customers aged 25 and over exceed £5,000 in net deposits within a rolling 24-hour period.
For customers considered at higher risk because of age or other factors, including those under 25, the initial threshold will be £2,500 in net deposits over the same period.
The Commission said the £5,000 threshold represents an unusually high spending pattern, with fewer than 0.5% of customers exceeding this level.
Once the system reaches its final stage, the thresholds will become broader. Customers aged 25 and over will require an assessment if they exceed £1,000 in net deposits during a rolling 24-hour period or £3,000 during a rolling 90-day period.
For customers under 25, the limits will reduce to £750 over 24 hours or £2,000 over 90 days.
The final framework differs from the approach proposed in the 2023 gambling reform white paper, which included a system based around a £2,000 loss over a 90-day period.
The Commission will determine the timetable for the first stage after further discussions with gambling operators, Credit Reference Agencies and other involved parties. Implementation groups are expected to be established during the summer to help refine guidance and operational details.
Sarah Gardner, Acting Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “We are confident that our approach, using high-quality data, will enable support for high-spending customers in financial difficulties, while reducing friction for customers who are not in financial difficulties by removing the need for unnecessary and unpopular document checks to understand financial risk.”
She added: “We have listened to feedback throughout the pilot process which has led to us deciding to carefully proceed. We will work with key partners to make sure that they are implemented in the most effective way for consumers and operators.”
Pilot results show limited number of customers affected
The regulator said the FRA pilot demonstrated that the majority of customers exceeding the relevant spending thresholds could complete assessments through credit reference data without additional steps.
The pilot found that 97% of customers above the tested thresholds could be assessed through a frictionless process. This exceeded the 80% estimate included in the 2023 white paper.
The Commission expects that fewer than 3% of customer accounts will require an assessment once the system is fully operational. It also estimated that fewer than one in 1,000 accounts will be unable to complete an assessment through available data and may require alternative methods.
In those rare cases, operators may need to carry out additional identity verification or use other methods, including open banking information or customer-provided documents.
The regulator also confirmed that operators will receive a grace period during the early implementation stages. Companies will not face enforcement action solely because they fail to act after receiving an FRA outcome, although all existing licence obligations will continue to apply.
For customers who are identified as potentially experiencing financial difficulty, operators will be expected to consider appropriate responses based on the information available to them. Possible actions include reducing marketing communications to vulnerable customers and helping players establish deposit limits.
Industry raises concerns over reliability and customer impact
The introduction of FRAs has received criticism from parts of the gambling sector, with concerns previously raised about potential disruption for customers and operators.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) responded to the announcement by saying it was “deeply disappointed and frustrated” that the measure would proceed despite concerns raised by operators, racing representatives, parliamentarians and customers.
BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst questioned whether the assessment process had been sufficiently tested and raised concerns about differences in information provided by credit reference agencies.
“The pilot exposed inconsistencies in the information returned by credit reference agencies, with the same customer potentially receiving different outcomes depending on the provider. Customers risk being wrongly identified as financially vulnerable based on a system that remains unproven. That is not a sound basis for regulatory intervention.”
Hurst also criticised the lack of a published full evaluation of the pilot, stating: “The Commission has yet to publish a full evaluation of the pilot, so neither the industry nor the public has seen the evidence needed to justify introducing these checks. These checks cannot be described as genuinely frictionless if they produce unreliable outcomes.”
The Commission has maintained that the phased approach allows time for improvements before wider implementation. Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross supported the decision, saying: “I welcome the Gambling Commission’s decision to implement financial risk assessments in a careful, phased way. Attention must now turn to successful implementation, so that financial risk assessments work for consumers, gambling operators and the wider ecosystem.”
She added: “The right balance must be struck so that assessments protect those in financial difficulties from the risk of gambling-related harm but do not create unnecessary burdens for the industry or consumers.”
Source:
“Commission to introduce Financial Risk Assessments in staged approach”, gamblingcommission.gov.uk, 07 July 2026
