How banks can spot gambling harms and offer support

Gambling difficulties can devastate finances, harm mental and physical health and damage families. But this harm doesn’t always appear suddenly. It often builds gradually as gambling behaviour shifts—often unnoticed – and before we know it, we’re in financial difficulty. The warning signs can be hard to spot, and shame and stigma means the vast majority of people who need it are not reaching out for support. 

Through looking at customer bank statements, banks can spot some of the signs of harm early – maybe even before people see it themselves – and provide timely support. A common misconception is that only large losses indicate harm. In reality, harm can occur at any spending level, especially for people on lower incomes. 

The question isn’t only how much is spent on gambling, but how it affects our finances and lives. Are customers gambling with borrowed funds? And can they pay essentials, such as rent, bills or loan repayments?

No two experiences of gambling harms are quite alike in how they impact our lives. But some signs may indicate potential gambling-related financial harm. 

Banks could look at and monitor a whole host of these, but to start with, here are our top five. 

1. Proportion of income or disposable income spent on gambling – Understanding how much customers are spending in context of our income and overall finances is important in understanding whether they might experience gambling harms.

2. The number of gambling deposits or transactions – People gamble in different ways; some might have many transactions in a short time without a break. This could show ‘binge’ gambling, and they could require immediate support. Equally, other customers could show high volume over a more extended period, such as a week or a month, which could also indicate harm. The number of gambling transactions might better predict harm than how much is spent alone.

3. Gambling across multiple operators – The more gambling activities someone is taking part in, the more likely they are to be experiencing problem gambling. Banks can’t necessarily see what happens once someone deposits, but they can identify if someone is at risk of harm through multiple or an increasing number of gambling operators.

4. Patterns of when someone gambles – When someone gambles is key to building a picture of harm. Whether that is within a day, over a month or a year. Some people gamble late or even through the night. This can be related to mental health. Gambling can be a coping mechanism, and sleepless nights can lead to heavy gambling, with no distractions. 

5. Change in how or how much is being spent on gambling – Any sort of escalation in gambling behaviour or habits could indicate a developing journey to harm. Analysis of bank statement data showed that many people experiencing problem gambling were not gambling at all six months before. Gambling harm can develop rapidly, so banks should monitor for harmful changes in gambling spend and patterns.

Developing ways to spot it is just one part of how banks can prevent or limit harm; they must also provide appropriate, non-judgmental and timely support relevant to what the customer might be experiencing. Many people affected by these issues want banks to do more to offer support. Our 2021 polling found that almost half (47%) of people who gamble online believe that banks should do more to help people stay in control of gambling.

With so many people feeling like they can’t reach out for support themselves, banks must proactively offer this help. Providing timely support would not only save lives but ensure banks adhere to the principles of the Consumer Duty and prevent foreseeable harm.

Here are our top three recommendations for firms on what steps they can take once they’ve identified customers who may be experiencing gambling harms:

1. Proactively offer a suite of bank gambling support tools – Bank Gambling Blocks, spending alerts and limits should be made available by banks and known to the customer; these could help customers self-limit or restrict how much they spend on gambling before serious harm occurs. 

2. Proactive and non-judgmental communication with customers – Outreach to customers must be supportive, non-judgmental and encourage them to seek support.

3. Warm referrals and signposting – Banks must have easy-to-access and use websites, with signposting information accessible. Where a customer has called in, warm referrals are valuable. This means contacting services, for example, gambling support services and debt advice, with a customer rather than simply giving them the information to take action themselves.

Many of the firms we’re working with are already innovating in this space. As we move into the programme’s second phase, we will work with banks to develop transaction data analysis and support for customers experiencing gambling harm.

If you want to keep up with the work of the Gambling Harms Action Lab, you can check out our webpage here, join our Research Community of people with lived experience of mental health problems, or join our Professional Network here.