The Gambling Commission has revealed that 68% of operators already had a form of Financial Vulnerability Checks (FVCs) in place for a number of years and were well prepared for a policy change.
An update provided by the Gambling Commission’s senior policy research team of Sarah Webster and Richard Sutcliffe revealed that it was expected that 20% of players would be subjected to FVCs; however, the total observed during the initial implementation phase was just 7%.
Noenetheless, it is anticipated that this number will rise further when thresholds for full checks are decreased from £500 to £150.
Insights about light-touch FVCs have been provided by the Gambling Commission (GC), offering information on their impact since their implementation in August 2024, before forecasting what the next steps will be.
Looking ahead, the GC reported positive feedback from the period, but there were also concerns raised over a lack of awareness or clarity regarding how checks are implemented.
Some operators were under the incorrect impression that they were receiving credit reference data as part of a financial vulnerability check. As the sharing of such data is not permitted, this is likely to be a misunderstanding by those completing the data returns to the Commission.
The feedback stated: “Further to these findings, we met with relevant data providers to discuss these misunderstandings and ask them to support continued education of operators and clarity to consumers that only publicly available information is available as part of a financial vulnerability check.”
It explained that “some of the responses from operators indicated a lack of knowledge about what is included in a financial vulnerability check”. The checks may only include publicly available information about significant risk flags, such as:
A bankruptcy order or equivalent
A County Court Judgment (CCJ)
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
High Court Judgment (HCJ)
An Administrative Order (AO) or decree
A Debt Relief Order or equivalent.
The update by the Commission’s Senior Policy team was underpinned by caution, as researchers are still evaluating whether the affordability and target thresholds are functioning as intended to identify vulnerable customers.
It suggests that researchers do not yet view the pilot phrase as fully settled, particularly following the reduction of the FVC threshold.
Further monitoring of FVC conditions are required as researchers conclude: “We will continue to monitor the impact of checks over time and, both directly and through the NatCen’s wider evaluation of Gambling Act Review measures, at the lower £150 threshold and share what we learn as more data becomes available.
“As our work on this in ongoing, we will publish a full findings report following further consideration of the change to the lower £150 threshold.”
