Financial Institutions Offering Loans to Gamblers: Is there a link between British financial firms and the fostering of gambling issues and addiction?
In the heart of the UK, a heated debate surrounds the lending practices of British financial institutions towards problem gamblers. The Guardian published investigations that shed light on the issue, revealing that weekly, up to £174 million (around €202 million) is lent to problem gamblers.
The current gambling reform in the UK has focused on strengthening responsible gambling and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. These measures include more rigorous player identification, ongoing monitoring, and enhanced due diligence for high-risk users, such as those showing signs of problem gambling. Since April 2025, all licensed gambling operators must implement a risk-based approach that includes verifying player identities and conducting continuous checks to identify problematic behavior patterns.
However, a closer look at the regulations reveals that while operators are required to perform Know Your Customer (KYC) verification and enhanced due diligence measures, including monitoring for problem gambling, there is no explicit mandate for reforming loan practices, such as forbidding or overseeing gambling on borrowed credit or loans linked directly to gambling accounts. Operators must verify sources of funds to prevent money laundering, but detailed changes regarding the management of personal loans or credit checks for gambling customers are not specifically mentioned.
The emphasis of the reforms is more on player protection, data verification, and responsible gambling policies, including restrictions on advertising that may influence problem gamblers. Enhanced due diligence involves scrutinizing transaction size and patterns to identify increased risk, potentially flagging problematic credit use indirectly.
Critics, such as the charity Gambling with Lives, founded by families affected by gambling-related suicides, argue that the industry is trying to "hide hundreds of deaths a year." Will Prochaska, a representative of Gambling with Lives, recently joined forces with the British Samaritans to challenge the industry's attempts to downplay the link between suicides and gambling addiction.
Gambling with Lives campaigns for stricter rules, better controls, and help for those affected and their families. Abound, a credit firm, conducted an AI-assisted analysis of its customer data and found that the criteria for lending to gamblers are often inadequate. Experts agree that the ban on using credit cards for gambling in the UK is not sufficient to curb debt-fueled gambling addiction.
As the long-planned gambling reform in the UK remains to be seen, the lending practices of British lenders towards problem gamblers continue to be a contentious issue. The official regulations for lending to gamblers have not been tightened due to the lack of progress in the British gambling reform. Gerald Chappell, CEO of Abound, stated that the tools used by lenders, like credit assessments, are outdated and can't identify many financially vulnerable potential borrowers in the online age.
The charity's efforts to challenge the industry's attempts to downplay the link between suicides and gambling addiction are a call for stricter regulations and better protections for vulnerable individuals. As the debate continues, it is clear that more needs to be done to protect problem gamblers from predatory lending practices.
What measures are specifically in place to address loan practices for problem gamblers within the UK's gambling reform?Despite the focus on player protection and responsible gambling policies, there seems to be a lack of explicit regulations concerning the management of personal loans or credit checks for gambling customers in the current UK gambling reform.
