The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has spoken out in support of a new scheme for gambling companies to share data regarding customers and their losses.
GamProtect, the data-sharing project that was previously known as Sandbox, would be used to protect customers when they started to show signs of problem gambling.
Alongside the Gambling Commission, companies would only be able to use information that they receive for financial risk checks.
Any customers would be alerted to this possibility too, with the financial checks likely undertaken should they experience any significant losses.
Stephen Almond, ED of Regulatory Risk at the ICO, said: “Problem gambling has devastating consequences for people’s finances, relationships and health. We are keen to see the financial sector share data to protect people from unaffordable losses and spiralling debt.”
The data-sharing project would also help identify customers who are not only classified as high-risk at one platform, but across multiple ones.
This is one of the main points brought up in the recent webinar between OpenBet and Neccton, where the attendees discussed the importance of understanding that each time a customer triggers a responsible gaming marker, it’s unlikely that this is the first casino where it’s happened for them.
Almond continued: “Data sharing can be a force for good, enabling organisations to protect people from gambling-related harm. We’ve been pleased to work with the Betting and Gaming Council through our Regulatory Sandbox to help them safeguard gamblers while upholding their rights to privacy.”
