We recently shared with you the five driving factors behind online gamblers’ decisions, including the need for instant withdrawals and faster payments. One of the most interesting finds from the report was that online gamblers want to be able to gamble responsibly and be supported in this by their gambling operators.
In these uncertain times, players may be in more financial difficulty than this time last year and this is now being reflected in their gambling decisions, with gamblers more likely to use a site that promotes responsible gambling through features like affordability checks and spending limits.
The topic of affordability is not new to online gaming, and you may remember our article about the House of Lords Select Committee's report detailing an increased focus on affordability, where we predicted affordability being a key player in the suspected government review of the 2005 Gambling Act. The government's response to the report was presented on 8 December 2020 and it recognised that gambling has undergone rapid change and stated that a review of the Gambling Act would be undertaken to assess whether changes to the regulatory system would be needed. The review has now begun, with a call for evidence to run until 31 March 2021, and is expected to inform changes to ensure customer protection is at the heart of the regulations.
With changes to the legislation expected, and with affordability at the forefront, how can gambling operators ensure they remain ahead of the game?
One clear solution is for operators to build affordability profiles to help decide what amounts they are able to responsibly lend to an online gaming customer. This allows operators to best prepare for upcoming changes to the gambling regulatory landscape, ensuring that their customers are 'betting within their means', and providing support for people to gamble responsibly, which they deemed as high priority in the recent survey.
LendingMetrics' Auto Decision Platform (ADP) can provide a detailed consumer profile by pulling data from multiple feeds, including operators' customer betting data, in order to provide a robust affordability picture. The automated process can work alongside manual reviews where required, and linked customer betting data can be integrated with the affordability decisioning, along with responsible gambling related triggers such as bet frequency and unusual betting spend or volumes.
In an age of affordability, it is apparent that operators need to adapt to the changing landscape and be prepared for new regulatory changes or risk penalisation and alienating their customers. If you are a gambling operator and are trialling various affordability possibilities, are wanting to discuss how best to approach affordability or have yet to automate your affordability processes, then call us today on +44 (0) 2394 211010 or email sales@lendingmetrics.com.