Most British bettors would prefer to change their gambling company, switch to a company operating without the necessary gambling licence, or even fully stop gambling in case they are required to provide evidence for their financial state as part of much-discussed affordability checks.
The revelations come at a time when the release of the UK Government’s White Paper from the still ongoing review of the country’s Gambling Act of 2005 is anticipated. However, before the results of the review are officially announced by local lawmakers, no one would be able to confirm whether the proposed mandatory checks would be implemented in the country, and if they are, what threshold for such checks would be adopted.
As mentioned above, the results of a new study were released by the sports betting community in the UK, Online Betting Guide (OLBG). The research involved a total of 1,007 British gamblers and was conducted by YouGov in the period from February 23rd and March 2nd, 2023.
For the time being, no mandatory affordability checks apply to gambling operators in the UK. However, considering the rumoured restrictions in the sector and the significant fines imposed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) on some operators allowing customers who could not afford to wager to actually place bets, some online gambling companies have already unveiled their own affordability thresholds. The latest study on the issue, however, found that a majority of the bettors who took part in the research actually disagree with sharing their sensitive financial data with operators as part of the controversial affordability checks.
Some Gamblers Prefer to Switch to Unlicensed Gambling Companies Rather Than Providing Sensitive Financial Information
The Online Betting Guide revealed that the latest research conducted by YouGov showed that almost 60% of the survey participants shared that, so far, they have not been asked to provide financial statements or evidence as part of affordability checks but they would not provide such sensitive information even in case they are required to do so.
A more detailed breakdown of the aforementioned figure shows that almost half of those survey participants (29.2%) were not required to provide such details but if so, they would rather stop gambling altogether. Less than one per cent of the gamblers who took part in the survey – 0.8% – confirmed they were asked to send evidence about their financial state and instead of doing so, they decided to stop betting.
On the other hand, a little over one-quarter of the survey respondents (27.4%) say they were not required to provide financial statements and other evidence as part of an affordability check but if asked to do so, they would prefer to switch to another licensed gambling company. A much smaller number of respondents, only 3.9%, confirmed that they refused to provide such documents when asked and selected another licensed gambling company.
What is even more concerning, is the fact that 3.2% of the survey respondents shared that if asked to provide such documents, they would rather turn to and bet with an unlicensed gambling company. About 0.9% of the gamblers participating in the study confirmed they have been required to provide evidence of financial state as part of affordability checks but they decided to switch to an unlicensed operator instead of doing so.
The research found that only 16.2% of the individuals who took part in the survey confirmed that they were required to provide some financial documents and they have done so when approached by a gambling operator. Another 18.5% shared that they have not been asked to provide evidence of their financial state but if they were, they would send them to the company.
- Author
Daniel Williams
