What are financial risk assessments at UK casinos?
Financial risk assessments are checks that use credit reference agency data to spot customers who may be in serious financial difficulty.
By Ryan Jessop. Updated .
Key takeaways
- Confirmed on 7 July 2026 for a staged rollout.
- Run by credit reference agencies, without documents.
- Do not affect your credit score, the Commission says.
- Stage one targets high net deposits; lower thresholds for under-25s.
How they work
When a customer’s net deposits pass a set threshold, the operator obtains a risk rating from a credit reference agency. If it shows significant financial difficulty, the operator must consider what action to take, from offering support and deposit limits to stronger intervention.
Stage one thresholds
For higher-risk groups such as customers under 25, the published stage-one triggers are net deposits of more than £750 in a rolling 24 hours or £2,000 in a rolling 90 days. The timetable for stage one was to be confirmed after work with operators and credit reference agencies.
Not an “affordability check”
The Commission says calling them affordability checks is inaccurate: they look for financial vulnerability, not whether you can afford a particular spend, and aim to reduce intrusive requests for payslips or bank statements.
What it means for you
Most players, including anyone claiming a £10 free spins offer, will never reach the thresholds. Identity and anti-money laundering checks continue regardless.
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Frequently asked questions
Do financial risk assessments affect my credit score?
The Gambling Commission says they do not.
Will I need to send bank statements?
The aim is to avoid that; checks use credit reference data instead.
When do they start?
They were confirmed for a staged rollout on 7 July 2026, with stage one dates set after industry engagement.