Pulse
COMPLIANCE W2 GLOBAL DATA
W2: Preparing for the UK’s Stricter Affordability Stance
Earlier this year, regulatory compliance service provider W2 Global Data launched an affordability solution that allows operators to carry out comprehensive affordability checks without impacting the customer journey. The launch of the affordability solution comes at a time when player affordability is under the microscope as part of the UK Government’s review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Warren Russell Founder & CEO, W2
"Everyone’s waiting to see what the threshold is going to be about affordability and RG checks,” explains Warren Russell, Founder & CEO of W2. “Tus far, the focus has been about what can and should be checked but I think there should be as much weight on customer engagement.
"Affordability is not just about checking if someone is bankrupt, it means engaging with customers from both an upsell and protection perspective. I believe there will be a dual focus on having to optimise the use of external resources whilst also picking up the phone and engaging via web chat with customers."
W2's new solution allows operators to gain insight into multiple affordability indicators so that they can protect their players, comply with regulations, and avoid potential fines and reputation damage with the UK Gambling Commission having handed out more than £54m in fines over the past two years alone.
As a result of the review, it is widely expected that the Gambling Commission will increase oversight and enforcement, especially when it comes to operators assessing and verifying player affordability.
P146 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
"Tere will be a move towards harder and faster enforcement. A recent comment about cumulative fines caught my eye with regards to track records. We're currently seeing fine levied from activities that happened several years ago - I think that will change. Of course, there needs to be time for investigations to take place, but the police and media momentum will mean this has to happen quicker."
As such, Warren believes stakeholders in the UK gaming industry need to change how they think about affordability in light of the upcoming reforms.
"As in everything, there is always good and bad apples. Tere are some doing a lot and others not enough. Tere are plenty of panels and webinars on affordability, but the rooms I've been in are not massively well attended.
"Tis suggests that either I'm a bad speaker or it's not being taken as seriously as it should be. Yes, operators can do better, but it isn't as bad as portrayed in certain media outlets."
BEGGARS BELIEF
W2 Global Data was launched over a decade ago, in which time the service provider landscape for age verification, affordability, fraud prevention and AML has drastically changed.
"When we launched, people were only speaking to the big credit bureau-type providers whereas we were small, fin/reg tech, and could react to customer requirements a lot quicker which gave us a good USP. However, the increased competition means that every couple of years we have to review our USPs and acknowledge someone else has come in and adopted
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