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The UK Gambling Commission confirmed on July 7 that it will introduce financial risk assessments to flag high-spending users who display risky gambling behavior.
In May 2026, the UKGC postponed the financial risk assessments decision after facing criticism from the industry; however, it has now revealed that the affordability checks will be launched in a phased approach, with the first stage targeting only the biggest operators and the players with the highest spend patterns.
The UKGC shared:
“Following extensive consultation, engagement with stakeholders and piloting, the Commission has decided on a staged approach to implementation. Financial Risk Assessments will provide operators with a new, more effective and proportionate way of identifying customers in significant financial difficulty, while reducing reliance on the document checks that some operators currently use to seek to identify financial risk and that are unpopular with many consumers.”
In the beginning, users who deposit more than £5,000 in 24 hours will be flagged for check-ups, but the limit will decrease to £1,000 in 24 hours by the time the risk assessments are fully operational.
The CEO of the UKGC, Sarah Gardner, commented:
“We are confident that our approach, using high-quality data, will enable support for high-spending customers in financial difficulties, while reducing friction for customers who are not in financial difficulties by removing the need for unnecessary and unpopular document checks to understand financial risk.”
Additionally, enforcement action will not be launched for non-compliance in the early stages of the checks, but general licensing requirements will still apply. From the customers’ side, the commission has estimated that less than 3% of user accounts will be assessed, with only 1 in 1,000 expected to require additional verification methods.
