Credit Application Data and Revolutionising Affordability Checks for Gambling and Gaming Operators

Well, well, well…here we are in 2023 and still no white paper from the UK Government concerning affordability checks for UK gambling operators. First proposed in 2019, a series of, should we say, misdemeanours in Downing Street have led to 3 different Prime Ministers, a series of resignations in the cabinet and backbenches and the therefore inevitable delay of affordability reforms.

So, what’s being done by operators currently whilst they await guidance from powers that be? As it stands, when an individual hits an affordability “trigger” gambling operators could use several forms of information to try and confirm affordability.

One option would be to look at elements of Credit Reference Agency data to provide an overview of consumer behaviour. The downside of this, of course, is that utilising these methods will leave a soft footprint on a consumer’s credit profile.

An operator may solely use publicly available information (open-source data), such as Geo-location data, Companies House, the Social Housing Register or scour the Internet for any adverse/social media for that person. However, how many people could have their accounts unfairly restricted because of their postcode? How many people could be in social housing but could afford to own their own property? How many LinkedIn profiles are out of date?

Finally, there could also be a request for documents such as payslips, but a consumer could choose to not provide that and set-up an account with a competitor who may not request a document, resulting in lost revenue for an operator.

So, what’s the solution? CRA data, open-source data and documents all have their benefits of course, but what if an operator could overlay this with a brand new, unique dataset that could show you if a consumer has been applying for loans and/or credit cards but also provide information such as employer, income and expenditure details? Welcome to Credit Application Data from Synalogik.

Through having Credit Application Data in our platform, Scout®, an operator may be able to confirm what a consumer has stated their income as, what their outgoings are, what the purpose of the credit application was, decision, marital status, number of dependants and more. Credit Application Data can also confirm the amount of applications made by an individual in the past 12 months and details such as address, phone number and email address used in the application, which is all captured at point of quote stage.

With the data being updated with more applications monthly whilst leaving absolutely no footprint on a consumer’s credit profile, Credit Application Data from Synalogik certainly looks set to revolutionise affordability checks in the industry.

For more information contact: sales@synalogik.com