According to the media, there is growing evidence that consumers do not want the upcoming Gambling Act Review to include measures such as mandatory spending limits that could backfire and send more people to the black market instead.
The survey reported on a number of key findings that helped gauge public attitude closer to the release date of the white paper which will set out the general framework for the industry’s reregulation.
Among those key findings was that 80% of respondents said that they opposed mandatory limits introduced by gambling companies. Another 15% said that they either bet or know someone who bets at unregulated gambling websites.
22% of all respondents said that they had to provide personal information to companies. Another 50% of those respondents refused to do so. Some 92% of respondents were happy to use a different gambling site if no personal information was asked of them.
The Numbers Raise an Alarm among Stakeholders
The number of respondents ranged based on the questions asked from 3,237 to 3,575 at the most. The survey was conducted at a time when affordability checks have become an increasingly divisive topic. The general public feels reluctant to provide gambling companies with financial details so as to prove that they can afford to bet above a certain level.
Organizations such as the Betting and Gaming Council have chimed in. Yet, other places in Europe have implemented such affordability checks with success. In Germany, if a player wants to bet above a certain weekly amount, they need to pass an affordability check.
Racecourse Media Group CEO Martin Stevenson commented on what the study of subsidiary Racing TV meant for the upcoming Gambling Act Review. Stevenson insisted that the review was set to affect members and that is why lawmakers would need to tread carefully in crafting legislation that does not alienate sports bettors from the regulated market. Stevenson cited the study as well:
Our survey revealed that 15% of respondents bet, or know someone that bets, with an unregulated bookmaker, which is of real concern.
Racecourse Media Group CEO Martin Stevenson
Blackmarket Very Much Real and Substantial
He warned that even now there are potentially hundreds of thousands of people who bet on races in the United Kingdom who may be using the black market to place part of their bets. Stevenson insisted that the chatter about affordability checks is already pushing many people into venturing into the black market which is very much “real and substantial.”
In a way, talk about affordability checks is likely to have the exact effect of what the government may hope to achieve. Stevenson added that Racing TV is sharing its findings with the UK Gambling Commission and hoping to see meaningful action on the part of the regulator.