Financial risk checks: what they are and why they happen
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Financial risk checks help operators spot unaffordable gambling. Light-touch checks use public data when net deposits pass £150 in a rolling 30 days. Financial risk assessments use credit reference data, do not affect your credit score and are being phased in.
Financial risk checks are checks an operator makes to see whether your gambling looks affordable. Most players never notice one, and they are designed to be quick and quiet.
Two kinds of financial risk checks
A light-touch check is triggered when your net deposits pass £150 in a rolling 30 days, and it uses only publicly available data. A financial risk assessment goes further: it uses credit reference data, does not affect your credit score and is being introduced in stages. The assessment applies only at much higher levels of spending, so most players will meet the light check, if they meet anything at all.
The staged thresholds
The first stage applies to the largest operators and starts when net deposits pass £5,000 in a rolling 24 hours, or £2,500 for under 25s. At the final stage, ages 25 and over are assessed after more than £1,000 in 24 hours or £3,000 in 90 days, while under 25s are assessed after more than £750 in 24 hours or £2,000 in 90 days.
According to the Gambling Commission, assessments should be frictionless, fewer than 3% of accounts would need one and fewer than 1 in 1,000 might need document checks. Thresholds and timing change often, so treat these figures as correct at the time of writing. Last checked October 2026.
If you are asked for more
Reply promptly to any request from the operator, because delays can hold up deposits or withdrawals. Ask what prompted the check and how your data is used, and send only the documents it names, such as payslips or bank statements, which show where your money comes from. If money is tight, treat the check as a useful warning, set a deposit limit and seek free debt advice before the pressure builds.