SBC News

GamCare has appointed Chris Thornton as its new Director of Operations, strengthening its executive leadership at a time of rising demand for gambling harm support services across the UK.

Thornton will take responsibility for the delivery and performance of GamCare’s national and regional services, including the National Gambling Helpline, and will join the organisation’s Executive Leadership Team.

He brings extensive senior leadership experience across the NHS, the voluntary sector and health commissioning.

Most recently, he served at the British Red Cross, where he was Director for the North of England and the Isle of Man.

In that role, he led large-scale health and care operations spanning NHS and local authority commissioned services, with a focus on reducing pressure on emergency care systems and supporting independent living.

During his time at the British Red Cross, Thornton oversaw around 100 staff and £3m annual income, delivering measurable reductions in emergency depa..

The Gambling Commission has confirmed to SBC News that a decision on whether to press ahead with Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) has not been made.

A meeting was held today (21 May), during which the regulator considered the next steps on rolling out FRAs – the more extensive of the two levels of affordability solution proposed in the Gambling Act review White Paper.

Ahead of the meeting, a plethora of last minute lobbying took place as some industry stakeholders and policymakers effectively viewed 21 May as something of a ‘deadline day’ – one in which FRAs would be confirmed and a plan for implementation announced.

But punters and operators alike will have to wait to find out what conclusion the Gambling Commission has come to as the board “has not yet fully completed its assessment” of the “extensive evidence” provided.

Gambling Commission considering next steps

“The Gambling Commission Board met to consider next steps on Financial Risk Assessments,” a spokesperson for the reg..

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is threatening to launch legal action against the Gambling Commission (GC) if it presses ahead with the implementation of the next phase of affordability checks for players, as it believes one in five customers would be required to provide financial information.

A Commission board meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 21 May 2026, when Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) could be given the green light as a means of identifying high-spending online gambling players who may be experiencing financial problems and offer them support.

The GC says these assessments would be automatically triggered if certain spending amounts are hit by a customer and would utilise data from credit reference agencies. However, many industry stakeholders believe customers could be reluctant to share their data and may instead wager with black market operators to avoid FRAs entirely.

FRAs are different from Financial Vulnerability Checks (FVCs), which use informa..

The UK’s Gambling Commission has reiterated that its affordability solutions will have little to no impact on the vast majority of British bettors amid a wave of criticism.

Affordability checks, as they colloquially are known though the Commission prefers to avoid this term, have stoked a lot of controversy lately, with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) even going as far as to say legal action may be necessary to prevent full implementation.

In a speech this week at the Clarion Payments Providers event, Ian Angus, the Commission’s Director of Policy, reasserted that the planned Finance Risk Assessments (FRAs) are “are not affordability checks by another name”.

“Nor do the proposed thresholds for an assessment limit or cap customer spend,” he said.

Commission stands by affordability numbers

The need for some kind of affordable solution for UK gambling was promoted heavily by those calling for legal reform during the 2020-2023 review of the 2005 Gambling Act.

When the review Whi..