TLDR
- UKGC’s Tim Miller confirmed gamblers won’t need to submit bank statements or financial documents as part of financial risk assessments
- A pilot study found 97% of customers would undergo frictionless checks with no disruption to their betting
- Only 0.1% of active accounts needed additional support to complete the assessment, far below the 0.6% originally estimated
- The Commission issued 741 cease-and-desist notices and flagged nearly 398,000 illegal URLs to search engines between 2025 and 2026
- A final decision on implementing the checks hasn’t been made yet, with the Commission awaiting government support
The UK Gambling Commission is pushing back against criticism of its financial risk checks programme. Executive Director Tim Miller said the checks will not require gamblers to hand over bank statements or other personal financial documents.
Miller made the comments during a keynote speech at the Ethical Gambling Forum in London on Tuesday. He was responding to months of pushback from politicians and industry groups who said the checks would be invasive.
The financial risk assessments were first outlined in the 2023 Gambling Act Review white paper. They have been a source of tension between the regulator and parts of the gambling industry ever since.
Miller said the checks being piloted “will not even attempt to make an assessment of what each customer can afford to gamble.” He described requests for additional financial documents after a check as having no “legitimate regulatory purpose.”
Pilot Results Show Minimal Disruption
The pilot launched in August 2024 with checks triggered when a player’s net monthly deposits hit £500. A second phase starting in February 2025 lowered that threshold to £150.
Results showed that 97% of active customers would go through the process without any disruption. That figure beat the original white paper estimate, which predicted around 80% would have a frictionless experience.
Only about 0.1% of active accounts, roughly one in a thousand, needed extra support to complete the assessment. The white paper had estimated that number would be closer to 0.6%.
Miller pointed out that the pilot group showed higher levels of financial vulnerability. Those flagged were two to five times more likely than average customers to have defaulted on debts or enrolled in debt management plans in the past year.
Less than 3% of active customers would trigger any kind of intervention step under the new system.
The Betting and Gaming Council has been one of the loudest critics. CEO Grainne Hurst previously said forcing punters to hand over bank statements “isn’t frictionless, it’s intrusive and will drive customers to the illegal market.”
A YouGov survey published by the BGC found 65% of UK bettors would refuse to provide personal financial documents if required to keep betting.
Industry critics also accused the programme of being a rebrand of the heavily scrutinised affordability checks. The Commission has denied this, saying the assessments are not intended as spending limits.
Commission Ramps Up Fight Against Illegal Gambling
Miller also shared details on the Commission’s enforcement work against illegal gambling sites. Between 2025 and 2026, the regulator issued 741 cease-and-desist notices.
It reported nearly 398,000 illegal URLs to search engines, with about 267,000 of those removed. The Commission also referred 1,068 websites for delisting and disrupted 1,134 websites through takedowns or geo-blocking.
The Treasury has provided £26 million over three years to support these efforts. A government-backed illegal gambling task force is also involved.
Miller said his team is currently working on a national risk assessment of the illegal market. The goal is to make sure enforcement is focused on the biggest threats.
The Commission’s board has not yet made a final decision on rolling out the financial risk checks. Miller said any decision would be evidence-based and depend on continued government backing.
If approved, a joint implementation group would be created with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, operators, and credit reference agencies to plan the rollout.
A summer 2026 consultation response is also expected on gaming machine compliance, with operators required to remove non-compliant machines by 29 July 2026.
