The UK is preparing new gambling laws, but most industry players are not prepared
A petition was launched on October 25 by Britain’s horseracing industry insisting that the UK Government stop its planned legislation that would require bettors losing as little as £1.37 ($1.66) a day to be subject to “intrusive” affordability checks.
The UK government published its Gambling White Paper in April, which detailed the proposal for two tiers of checks. The first is for individuals who lose a minimum of £125 ($151.84) in 30 days or £500 ($607.35) in a year, who would be subject to “frictionless” background checks employing “publicly available data.”
The second check goes into further detail for bettors who lose £1,000 ($1,114.70) in 24 hours or £2,000 ($2,429.40) within 90 days. It would require a check through credit reference agencies and instruct bookmakers to request personal documents from customers, such as proof of income and bank statements.
Independent assessments indicate the industry could lose about £250 million ($303,675,000) over the next five years, with significant online betting revenue already lost since the checks were introduced.
The horseracing industry petition is registered in the name of Jockey Club Chief Executive Nevin Truesdale and launched on behalf of Britain’s horseracing industry, which has over 85,000 employees and adds £4.1 billion ($4.98 billion) annually to the UK economy.
Posted on Change.org, the petition is displayed as “Stop the planned implementation of betting affordability or financial risk checks.” The petition must get 10,000 signatures to receive a response from the government and at least 100,000 signatures to be considered for a Parliamentary debate.
Emma Rodriguez is the Proofreader at the Big Blind, with seven years of experience and five years in online gambling. She plays a crucial role in maintaining content quality by ensuring error-free, reader-friendly information about the gambling industry.
