Punters from poorer areas in UK at greater risk of gambling ban under controversial plans

PUNTERS from poorer areas are at greater risk of being banned from gambling under a sweeping new clampdown. 

Draconian reforms will see up to one in five betting accounts undergo financial checks.

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Draconian reforms will see up to one in five betting accounts undergo financial checks[/caption]

And betters from deprived places will be more likely to have their details swept as ministers plan to use postcode affluence to form a “risk profile”. 

Rishi Sunak’s controversial Gambling White Paper – first leaked in full by The Sun – proposes vulnerability checks for those who lose £125 in a month period or £500 in a year.

And people deemed financially at-risk could even suffer a full-blown betting ban.

The small print in the plan reveals the affordability checks must include “geodemographic data which may flag potential financial risk, including information about the postcode area, such as deprivation index”.

Bosses last night blasted the “postcode lottery” proposals to judge people based on their address.

A spokesman for the British Horseracing Authority said: “Checks which could include assessing whether people are ‘at risk of harm’ from gambling based on their postcode or job title are inappropriate and discriminatory. 

“The policy would create a postcode lottery for racing bettors and set a dangerous precedent regarding people’s freedom to spend their own money how they wish.

“Millions of people enjoy having a bet on horseracing without suffering any harm.”