The latest report from the UK Gambling Commission shows that the second phase of its financial risk assessment pilot project has been highly successful, achieving a "frictionless" operation in 97% of approximately 1.7 million assessments, far exceeding the 80% benchmark estimated in the 2023 white paper.
The pilot was launched in August last year, and when a player's net monthly deposit reaches 500 GBP ($671.29), the system automatically triggers a credit agency check.
The first phase achieved a 95% frictionless rate, and the second phase further improved the success rate to 97% by adopting updated data from operators. Helen Rhodes, the director of major policy projects at the Gambling Commission, pointed out that this achievement validates the feasibility of frictionless assessments, and the next steps will focus on addressing the consistency issues across credit agency data and optimizing the identification mechanisms for high-risk customers.
Data analysis shows that the financial risk of the player group triggering the assessment is significantly higher than that of the general population—their debt management plan usage rate is 2-4 times higher, and the probability of default is 2-5 times that of the general population.
The pilot has now entered its third phase reporting period, with data collection completed on April 30. The commission will complete the final analysis before the summer, focusing on overcoming the challenges of credit agency data discrepancies and developing precise risk intervention plans for operators.
This innovative mechanism marks significant progress in the UK in balancing player privacy protection with responsible gambling.
