The fact that more than 100,000 people called for the debate on Betting Affordability checks in only 27 days as well as the number of Members in Westminster Hall who attended the debate clearly shows there is a great deal of interest in the subject from across the House and from the public.
I understand the strength of feeling on both sides. For many, gambling can be entertaining, but I recognise that it can also become a serious problem and, in the new digital landscape, work is needed to get the balance right between protecting consumer freedoms and protecting people from harm.
I believe the Gambling White Paper published in April 2023, strikes this balance, proposing the most comprehensive reforms to the gambling sector since the Gambling Act 2005. It outlines a balanced and proportionate package of measures, including a new regime of frictionless financial risk checks.
The Government is clear that the checks should not overregulate the gambling sector, should not unduly disrupt the millions of people who gamble without suffering harm, and should not cause unnecessary damage to sectors which rely on betting, in particular horse racing. They will be implemented to protect those at the greatest risk of gambling harm and to stop potentially devastating and life-changing financial losses. These checks will be based on data sharing, and I have been reassured that the Government will not roll them out until it is certain they are frictionless.
Several roundtables have been held between the Government and representatives of industry, horse racing, and the Gambling Commission to discuss how to work together to ensure that these checks will be frictionless. Ministers have also stressed that the status quo, a host of industry-run checks, are often inconsistent, ad hoc and can be unnecessarily onerous, with customers having to manually provide reams of personal data to navigate a maze of different tick-boxes. As such, the Government has urged the Gambling Commission and industry to work together to mitigate the impact of these checks while a new, frictionless system is developed.
The Government and the Gambling Commission have also been working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office, credit reference agencies, and UK Finance to ensure new frictionless checks can be implemented in an effective but proportionate way. I am aware that the Government's is examining the role of pilots or phased implementation to ensure the checks are effective and work as intended.
The Government recognises the unique contribution that horseracing makes to the UK’s sporting culture and, in particular, to the rural economy. Ministers and officials have held regular meetings with both the British Horseracing Authority and the Horserace Betting Levy Board, and I understand that the impact of the Gambling White Paper on the horseracing industry will be minimal. There will also be a review into the current horserace betting levy to make certain racing continues to be appropriately funded for the future.
You may be interested to read the debate which recently took place in Westminster Hall on this subject. I was particularly interested to read what the Minister responding had to say, as I hope you will be too. The link to the debate can be found here: Financial Risk Checks for Gambling - Hansard - UK Parliament
