Gambling minister rubbishes “one-size-fits-all approach” to affordability checks

De facto gambling minister Paul Scully has moved to downplay the restrictiveness of affordability checks that are due to arise from the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review.

Speaking at the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) AGM yesterday, Scully said a “one-size-fits-all approach” was not the intention of the government in regard to customer spending, but conceded there would be checks in some capacity.

The MP attempted to shift the narrative around affordability checks, instead referring to them as “financial risk checks”, as he looked to appease the gathered industry figures in central London.

Scully said: “Affordability checks is the wrong title for the protections we’re envisaging. That word suggests that the government or Gambling Commission are going to set rules on how much people can afford to gamble.

“It may be more accurate to call them financial risk checks – checking that a higher than usual level of spend is not itself an indicator of harm,” he added.

Scully once again repeated the line that the document was a “matter of weeks away” from publication amid a fraught political and industry atmosphere.

EGR understands that the secretary of state for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Michelle Donelan, wants the white paper published before she goes on maternity leave in April.

EGR also understands that the white paper will be subject to a Cabinet write-round process to allow the government to assess its contents, which could take a month to complete.

Scully said: “We are putting the finishing touches to our white paper, making the final decisions and preparing for publication. We’re a matter of weeks away from you all seeing it, and then we can start the process of nailing down details and implementing reforms,” he added.

Elsewhere, BGC CEO Michael Dugher told EGR that he doesn’t expect either side of the debate to be happy with the outcome of the review.