GB: Many players criticise anticipated credit checks

Credit checks in Great Britain will lead to better protection of the players from the dangers of gambling. Everyone should only be able to gamble away the money that he or she can verify that he or she has left. As it resulted from a recent survey of a TV-station, many British gamblers are however criticising the planned procedure.

Very soon British gambling operators could be obliged to carry out strict credit checks of their members. Basically this involves that ever individual player can proof through the relevant proof of income that he or she can afford to gamble within the financial framework. Only recently we reported about the effect of the credit card ban on gambling in Great Britain.

Survey: 95 % against strict credit checks

The British TV-Station Racing TV carried a survey among 2000 persons about this issue. The result is clear: 95 % of the respondents have stated that they are completely against it if the gambling providers will get to take a look at their own account balance. 88 %, therefore an overwhelming majority, have stated that the British government should not get involved in the amount of the stakes.

At the same time however 74 % of the respondents stated that they would be in favour of credit checks at least for players who are especially at high risk of gambling addiction. Besides this, 85 % of the respondents warn that this type of strict credit checks could lead some of the gamblers to gamble on the Black Market.

The TV-Station Racing TV sums up that package credit checks, as well as stake limits, deposit limits, and loss limits are not the right solution to protect players from the dangers of gambling in the long term. Moreover the gambler groups who are at risk should be specifically targeted and they should be offered the necessary help.

The right balance must be found

It is a challenge to find the right balance between the players‘ freedom and their protection. Players who are in danger of becoming gambling addicted should be protected from the dangers of gambling in the best possible way. However from the point of view of the British gambling authority, Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) it is the wrong solution to introduce such strict credit checks for all gamblers. The danger, that a significant number of these players could turn to the black market is simply too high. It would be better if the gambling providers would use their modern technologies to better identify the players who are at potential risk and thus be able to target them and protect them effectively. Only a few weeks ago we had also reported, that British Parliamentarians are also advertising gambling.

Conclusion

In the recent survey, the majority of the British gambling enthusiasts spoke out against the strict credit checks from the side of the providers. Probably many players in Germany would also not agree if they had to disclose their income, and to an extent also their account balance to be able to gamble. Instead of this it would be better to offer better protection to those who are potentially at risk. Otherwise at the end of the day only the black market will once again benefit from this measure.

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