The Gambling Commission has confirmed to SBC News that a decision on whether to press ahead with Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) has not been made.
A meeting was held today (21 May), during which the regulator considered the next steps on rolling out FRAs – the more extensive of the two levels of affordability solution proposed in the Gambling Act review White Paper.
Ahead of the meeting, a plethora of last minute lobbying took place as some industry stakeholders and policymakers effectively viewed 21 May as something of a ‘deadline day’ – one in which FRAs would be confirmed and a plan for implementation announced.
But punters and operators alike will have to wait to find out what conclusion the Gambling Commission has come to as the board “has not yet fully completed its assessment” of the “extensive evidence” provided.
Gambling Commission considering next steps
“The Gambling Commission Board met to consider next steps on Financial Risk Assessments,” a spokesperson for the regulator told SBC News this afternoon.
“It was presented with an extensive evidence base but has not yet fully completed its assessment of that evidence. We will communicate further in due course.”
An outpouring of debate has ensued regarding FRAs, with the industry – and other critics in horse racing and in political circles – more commonly using the term ‘affordability checks’.
FRAs are the more stringent measure proposed by the April 2023 Gambling Act review White Paper, intended to come into effect in cases where customers have lost large sums of money in a short space of time.
The less stringent form of affordability check, the Financial Vulnerability Check, has been in force since February last year. Vulnerability Checks were initially introduced with a threshold of a net deposit of £500 within a rolling 30 day period, but this dropped to £150 in August 2025.
Many have spoken out against the proposition to implement FRAs, including gambling reform advocate James Noyes, Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage, broadcaster Matt Chapman and many other MPs who have penned a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy asking for a halt.
On Monday, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) told SBC News that it felt it was ‘left with little choice’ but to mount a legal challenge against the full implementation of the checks.
To be fair to the Commission, it was never set in stone that the regulator was going to implement FRAs after today’s meeting. In a statement to SBC on the same day, the Commission assured that “no decisions have yet been made”.
“Any future implementation would be carefully considered, evidence-led and introduced in a measured and proportionate way,” a spokesperson said at the time.
The regulator is also adamant that neither the existing Vulnerability Checks nor the yet-to-be-implemented FRAs will impact the vast majority of bettors, as Policy Director, Ian Angus, reiterated in a speech this week.