W2, the global regulatory compliance specialists for the gaming market, has announced the launch of its real-time affordability check, which will support the needs of operators as they adapt to evolving guidance from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
The launch comes as the UKGC has underlined the importance of licence holders to place affordability at the heart of their safer gambling commitments for 2021, which will also undoubtedly become a central focus in the 2021 gambling act review.
Peter Murray, W2 Head of Sales, commented: “If you look at any of the pronouncements from the regulators in the UK and the upcoming review of the UK Gambling Act, front and centre to everything they’re doing is affordability.
“For us at W2 it is all about offering a solution which removes friction but is compliant, and we believe that this new affordability solution is suited to both the needs of the regulator, the challenges the operators face, and the consumers desire to be protected from harm.”
W2 will also be working with its strategic partner, Gibraltar-based Crucial Compliance, on the release of the affordability check. Working together, the two firms believe that this solution can have a positive impact on the industry as it aims to significantly help towards the issues surrounding responsible gambling and player protection.
Kevin Fox, W2 Senior Product Manager responsible, also stated: “The solution is split into two main parts. Level one offers an affordability index which leverages the data to give results on account activity including levels of income and banking data feeds and collates this into a score-based response. Level two offers more in-depth insight which allows the operator to collect and verify the declared income of the customer. These two components are a massive step in the right direction for safer gambling.”
Andy Masters, COO at Crucial Compliance, concluded: “We are absolutely delighted to officially release this affordability solution. Since partnering with W2 in late 2020 we have combined our resources to bring to market a solution which is not only is frictionless and solves real time, real data affordability, but is also built into our player management solution. We have worked hard to ensure that this is as easy as possible for operators to continue to meet the needs of the regulators now and in the future”
