Leading figures from the gambling and sporting industries in the UK have joined Member of Parliament Philip Davies in criticizing the UK Gambling Commission's intrusive affordability and source-of-funds checks. Veteran professional gambler Harry Findlay said the regulator "doesn't know what it is doing."
These most recent findings followed a story from the venerable publication Racing Post that known professional poker player Joe Beevers had closed accounts with Betfair and Smarkets as they demanded copious paperwork to permit his betting to continue. Even bank records from pals who had given him payments were among them.

"We have got to get away from this idea that bookies, the Gambling Commission, or the government can decide how much each person can afford to bet," said Mr. Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire. The only person who knows how much they can afford to bet is themselves, yet personal responsibility has been completely eliminated from the picture. Every user who logs on should be required to enter how much they are willing to lose each month or per year, and the operators should be responsible for making sure that they do not permit anything more.

The Gambling Review must restrain the extreme behavior of the Gambling Commission, whose leaders have no gambling-related knowledge.