We shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to place a bet

I play online games and bingo regularly as a hobby. After a long day at work sometimes I just need an hour to myself and I find playing a few games of bingo the perfect way to relax. It’s easy and it’s fun and I get to enjoy it with friends without having to leave the house!

There’s been lots of talk recently though that you’re going to have to go through all sorts of affordability checks to continue playing online games. The government want to make people start submitting credit or bank statements to prove you can afford to play. This seems like an unnecessary hoop to jump through just to play a bit of bingo!

I worry that with all these added checks, people will just find somewhere else to bet online. I’m not saying anybody wants to use black market sites but if there are too many checks and complicated pages to go through, I imagine some people will try and look for the sites without them.

Overregulation of gambling could come with these unintended consequences! The government needs to think about what will happen if they make gambling too inaccessible for those who just want to enjoy it.