Minister takes issue over affordability checks

The UK’s Gambling Minister, Paul Scully, has taken issue with the country’s Gambling Commission over its stance on affordability checks.

Speaking to the Betting and Gaming Council last Thursday, Scully said it was not the role of the government of the commission to determine how much a person clan afford to gamble.

Scully said: “There are a few things I can say at this stage. The first is that ‘affordability checks’ is probably the wrong title for the protections we’re envisaging. That word suggests that the government or Gambling Commission are going to set rules on how much people can ‘afford’ to gamble.

“Let me be really clear here that it is not the role of the government, it is not the role of the Gambling Commission, to tell people how much of their salary they are ‘allowed to’ spend on gambling. That’s just not our role.

“We are not going to have a one size fits all approach, it’s just not the intention. It may be more accurate to call them ‘financial risk’ checks – checking that a higher than usual level of spend is not itself an indicator of harm.”

He also said that the white paper would not be the final word on gambling reform and that it would be followed by consultations within the relevant government department and the Gambling Commission.