Industry commentators Earnings + More have reported several details concerning the content of the Gambling Act white paper. This information is particularly relevant to legal compliance within the gambling industry.
According to industry sources, the details presented in the report align with their understanding of the document. The report highlights an important aspect, which is the inclusion of affordability checks that operators may need to conduct.
Under these proposed checks, players would be allowed to incur a net loss of up to £125 per month or £500 per year before triggering “passive” checks. These passive checks aim to identify any obvious signs of financial difficulties, such as county court judgements.
If a player exceeds a loss of £1,000 within 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days, they will face more thorough and detailed checks. It is worth noting that new accounts will have lower thresholds for these checks.
Industry sources have questioned the practical implications and differences between the two levels of checks, as well as whether these checks will impact customers’ credit scores.
Additionally, the report revealed further details about the previously mentioned limitation on slot stakes. The proposal suggests implementing “smart stake limits” in which customers would initially have a cap between £2 and £5. However, those who have undergone affordability checks may be able to stake higher amounts, ranging between £10 and £25.
Other online casino games will not have capped stakes, and there will be a ban on online VIP schemes. Contrary to previous reports, free bets will not be completely banned, but they may be restricted from targeting customers based on their spending behavior.
The news initially caused declines in share prices across the industry, but a rapid rebound followed. For instance, 888, which recently acquired William Hill and has significant exposure in Great Britain, experienced the sharpest rise from £1.46 per share at 10 am to £1.50 at noon.
Entain’s share price was initially £10.74 at 10 am but saw a 1.6% increase at the time of writing. Flutter’s share price dropped to £75.14 after the news, but then rose to £75.86.
The Gambling Act review, initiated in 2020, has faced several delays. Most recently, the resignation of the responsible minister, Chris Philp, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson disrupted the process. Philp was replaced by Damian Collins, who may introduce late changes to the white paper.
