UKGC Withholds Data on Affordability Check Stats

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UKGC Declines to Release Internal Data Behind Key White Paper Claims

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has withheld internal communications regarding the evidence for key affordability check statistics cited in the government's Gambling White Paper, a Freedom of Information (FOI) response reveals.

The regulator refused to release the information on the grounds that locating it would exceed cost limits set by the FOI Act.

Context: The 3% and 80% Figures

The FOI request, dated 17 August 2023, sought to scrutinise two central claims made by the government to reassure consumers that upcoming financial risk checks would not be overly intrusive:

1. That just three per cent of all online gambling accounts would be affected by more detailed "enhanced" financial checks.
2. That 80 per cent of those checks would be "frictionless," conducted in the background using credit reference agency data without the customer needing to provide documents.

These figures are fundamental to the proposed system of financial risk checks, which aim to protect vulnerable consumers from significant harm. For players, understanding the basis of these numbers is crucial to gauging how the new regulations might impact their accounts and personal data.

Details of the Request and Refusal

The requester asked for any advice, internal discussions, or emails from senior UKGC executives to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that related to the formulation of these two key percentages.

Initially, the Commission directed the requester to its publicly available advice to the government. However, the requester noted this did not cover the "internal discussion" aspect of their query.

Upon reconsideration, the UKGC confirmed that it does hold the requested information but refused to provide it, invoking Section 12 of the FOI Act. The regulator stated:

"We estimate that it would take in excess of 18 hours to determine appropriate material and locate, retrieve and extract any relevant information in reference to your request as there is a high volume of records which may contain relevant information and would need to be checked individually."

The cost limit for public authorities under the Act is £450, which is equivalent to 18 hours of staff time. By stating the search would exceed this, the UKGC is legally permitted to refuse the entire request.

Significance for Consumers

This refusal means that the internal modelling, data, and high-level discussions between the regulator and the government that led to these critical figures remain shielded from public view.

For consumers concerned about the scope and implementation of affordability checks, this lack of transparency leaves key questions unanswered. Without access to the underlying data, it is difficult for the public to assess the accuracy of the government's claims or understand how the final thresholds for checks were determined. The decision to withhold the information prevents independent scrutiny of the evidence base for one of the most significant reforms in UK gambling regulation.