UKGC Delays Financial Risk Assessment Plan

The UK Gambling Commission has delayed a final decision on Financial Risk Assessments after reviewing evidence at a board meeting on 21 May. The checks form part of the 2023 Gambling Act white paper reforms and remain one of the most disputed parts of the UK betting policy agenda.

Good to Know

• The UKGC has not set a new timetable for a final FRA decision.
• The pilot began in August 2024 and was designed to flag possible financial harm.
• Racing groups, MPs, betting operators and legal experts have raised concerns.

UKGC Takes More Time On FRA Evidence

The Gambling Commission is not ready to approve the full rollout of Financial Risk Assessments, even after its board reviewed the issue on 21 May.

In a statement, the regulator said:

“[UKGC] was presented with an extensive evidence base but has not yet fully completed its assessment of that evidence. We will communicate further in due course.”

That delay keeps betting operators, racing bodies and campaigners waiting for clarity on one of the most sensitive UK gambling reform measures.

FRAs began as a pilot in August 2024. The Gambling Commission has said the checks aim to identify risky gambling activity and possible financial harm, not set fixed customer spending limits. According to the regulator, 97% of active customers would go through a frictionless check, while only 3% would trigger extra intervention.

However, the word “frictionless” has done little to quiet concern across the sector. Bettors, operators and racing leaders have questioned whether credit reference data can work properly, whether customers will accept the process, and whether tougher checks could send some users to unlicensed betting sites.

The British betting and horseracing link sits close to the center of the dispute. Earlier in the week, cross-party MPs urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to drop the policy, warning that affordability-style checks could damage racing revenue at a difficult time for the sport.

The Gambling Commission continues to reject that label. Ian Angus, the regulator director of policy, told a Clarion Payments Providers event:

“Financial Risk Assessments are not affordability checks by another name – the checks we have been piloting will not even attempt to make an assessment of what each customer can afford to gamble”.

Tim Miller, executive director at the Gambling Commission, also told the Ethical Gambling Forum in April that operators would not need to ask customers for extra financial documents, such as bank statements, after an FRA.

Customer trust remains a problem, though. A YouGov survey published by the Betting and Gaming Council found that 65% of UK bettors would refuse to hand over personal financial documents if required to keep betting.

Sophie Kemp, partner and head of public law at Kingsley Napley, said the delay shows unresolved issues remain.

“The Gambling Commission had already acknowledged unresolved questions about the reliability of credit reference data, customer friction and the risk of driving customers to unregulated black-market operators. The board’s decision to delay affordability checks tends to suggest that the pilot evidence has not resolved these concerns, feared across the industry,” Kemp said.

She added:

“The Gambling Commission cannot move forward with a decision of this significance without a reasonable assessment of their impact – and if it does, the case for judicial review is likely to be compelling.”

For now, UK operators have no final FRA rollout date. The regulator says more assessment work still needs to happen before it reaches a decision.

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