Here comes the whitepaper - or does it?

OK, perhaps we are reading too much into Neil Channing’s comments on Racing TV last weekend, but he does seem to be well-informed, and his comments tally with earlier suggestions that the much-anticipated Gambling review whitepaper will be released this side of Christmas.

Perhaps more significantly, the expectation is that the contents of the whitepaper will remain essentially unchanged. From the perspective of affordability checks, that means the relatively ‘strict’ approach of requiring checks based on real financial data when customers spend £2,000 over the course of 3 months (if we can assume the leaks earlier in the year were easily accurate).

Before looking more closely at what this means, it might also be worth calling out Neil Channing’s later comments, specifically that legislation may not inevitably follow publication. That sounds like a likely scenario, but in truth will probably not change much. The Gambling Commission, already proactive in this area, will almost inevitably see the recommendations within the whitepaper as a green light to continue demanding real affordability checks - and perhaps get tougher yet.

So what does this mean for operators? 

Firstly - don’t panic