TLDR UKGC’s Tim Miller confirmed gamblers won’t need to submit bank statements or financial documents as part of financial risk assessments A pilot study found 97% of customers would undergo frictionless checks with no disruption to their betting Only 0.1% of active accounts needed additional support to complete the assessment, far below the 0.6% originally estimated The Commission issued 741 cease-and-desist notices and flagged nearly 398,000 illegal URLs to search engines between 2025 and 2026 A final decision on implementing the checks hasn’t been made yet, with the Commission awaiting government support
The UK Gambling Commission is pushing back against criticism of its financial risk checks programme. Executive Director Tim Miller said the checks will not require gamblers to hand over bank statements or other personal financial documents.
Miller made the comments during a keynote speech at the Ethical Gambling Forum in London on Tuesday. He was responding to months of pushback from politicians and industry groups who said the checks would be invasive.
The financial risk assessments were first outlined in the 2023 Gambling Act Review white paper. They have been a source of tension between the regulator and parts of the gambling industry ever since.
Miller said the checks being piloted “will not even attempt to make an assessment of what each customer can afford to gamble.” He described requests for additional financial documents after a check as having no “legitimate regulatory purpose.”
Pilot Results Show Minimal Disruption
The pilot launched in August 2024 with checks triggered when a player’s net monthly deposits hit £500. A second phase starting in February 2025 lowered that threshold to £150.
Results showed that 97% of active customers would go through the process without any disruption. That figure beat the original white paper estimate, which predicted around 80% would