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Pressure is building around UK gambling financial risk checks. Dr James Noyes, an early backer of affordability checks, now wants the policy paused until the pilot gets proper review.
Good to Know
A fresh challenge has landed in the debate over UK gambling affordability rules. In an open letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Dr James Noyes called for financial risk checks to be suspended until the pilot scheme gets what he described as proper evaluation and scrutiny.
Noyes matters here because he was one of the early public advocates of affordability checks when the idea first surfaced in 2020. A senior fellow at Social Market Foundation, he backed the policy in reports published in 2020 and 2021, and several of his ideas later appeared in the gambling reform white paper released in April 2023. Now he is warning that the current version is raising serious questions.
The UK Gambling Commission started its pilot on what it calls financial risk assessments in September 2024. The aim was to test a two tier system that could flag possible gambling harm while staying frictionless, so customers would not have to hand over financial documents to keep gambling. Since spring 2025, though, the regulator has not issued a public update on progress or a final report. At the same time, recent media reports have suggested the commission board could look at approval next month.
That lack of clarity sits at the centre of Noyes concern. In the letter, he said he is “deeply concerned over a lack of transparency” and is “reading increasing reports that the pilot scheme has involved inconsistent data, unclear outcomes, and unnecessary friction.”
He also tied the issue directly to horse racing. Noyes said he is “particularly alarmed by reports that checks will prove unnecessarily burdensome to horse racing bettors, to the detriment of that sport.” Racing leaders have already been making that case, arguing that the checks could hit bettors in that sector harder than others and cost racing tens of millions of pounds if customers refuse to share information and instead drift to the black market.
Noyes said the government has “a duty to listen to the [British Horseracing Authority’s] warnings and to act accordingly, in order to protect such an important part of British cultural and social life.”
His letter also made clear that his earlier support was never unconditional. He wrote that affordability checks were “a worthy idea in principle” when first proposed, but only with safeguards in place. He pointed to the need for a gambling ombudsman to protect consumer rights and redress, a non intrusive model, and a framework that would prevent serious harm without blocking most people from using their own money in a legal activity.
He summed up his current stance in direct terms:
“The current situation of financial risk checks is raising serious questions, which should be addressed by the government before any further progress of that policy is made. I am therefore calling on the government to pay heed to the BHA’s warnings and to pause these checks until there has been adequate evaluation and scrutiny.”
The Gambling Commission is not stepping back, at least not yet. A spokesperson said the regulator is “continuing to work on financial risk assessments with one of the key focuses being on removing friction for consumers.”
The spokesperson added:
“If introduced, consumers would not need to provide documents for the checks to be completed. As with any regulatory measure, we will be considering potential impacts for consumers and businesses before making a decision on financial risk assessments, including how they would work in practice if introduced.”