Summary:
- UK gambling operators and financial institutions will collaborate for GamProtect
- GamProtect is a project where financial data will be shared with gambling operators to protect Brits
- Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) backs GamProtect project
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK has given its backing to get financial intuitions in the country and gambling operators to work closely together regarding sharing of financial data.
The ICO has backed a project where gambling operators will get access to customer’s financial data so that they can carry out necessary analysis of personal financial data and then take appropriate decisions in order to protect British gamblers from exposing themselves to problem gambling risks.
Data Sharing Project Between Gambling Operators and Financial Institutions
The ICO is the independent group that focuses on privacy, protection and data rights in the UK. The ICO recently answered a query from the trade body for UK financial services (UK Finance) and emphasized the fact that UK data laws should not prevent licensed gambling firms from carrying out risk assessments on British players.
Current data sharing laws in the UK permit financial institutions to share data with gambling firms as long as the process is done in a transparent manner. There are concerns from some players over data privacy and sharing of financial information with gambling operators.
This concern was addressed by the Executive Director of Regulatory Risk at the ICO, Stephen Almond said that the ICO was eager to get the financial sector share data with gambling operators in order to better protect players from incurring heavy losses and plunging into gambling related debt
Almond said that while there are data sharing risks being raised by players, the ICO is collaborating with the UK Gambling Commission to design and develop privacy safeguards and put in place financial risk checks. This data sharing project will be called GamProtect!
The long term strategy of the UKGC is to get gambling operators to data on high risk players across multiple gambling sites. Players will be informed by gambling operators that they will be subject to such financial checks if they incur heavy losses.
ICO and BGC Collaborating On Regulatory Sandbox
The ICO is also working together with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) to develop a Regulatory Sandbox project. The Regulatory Sandbox is designed to protect British players while at the same time ensuring their data privacy rights are maintained.
