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The survey, carried out by YouGov on behalf of OLBG, interviewed 1,007 bettors on the topic of affordability checks. So it has to be noted this is a small sample size.
Out of the 21.8% of bettors that had been asked to submit documentation to at least one bookmaker, 74.3% had provided them. This could include a bank statement or payslip.
However, 17.9% of bettors had refused to comply with the affordability check and had moved to a different operator, while 4.1% had turned to unlicensed operators.
The affordability checks had caused 3.7% of bettors to stop betting activity entirely.
Richard Moffat, CEO at OLBG, said: “Most bettors who have been asked to provide documents have done so.
“More importantly, very few of those who were asked stopped gambling or went to the black market, the latter being the worst unintended consequence of measures aimed at making gambling more responsible.
“However, there is a stark difference between those who have been asked and those who haven’t in terms of willingness.”
Of the 78.2% of bettors who had not yet been asked to complete affordability checks, only 23.5% said they would be willing to supply the documents.
Significantly, 35% said they would simply move to a different operator, and 4.1% confessed this would be an unlicensed operator.
The final 37.3% claimed affordability checks would cause them to stop betting altogether.
With an overall 65% of bettors saying they would not comply with the checks, 75.4% of these currently bet less than £5 ($6.25) a month.
