Thread by @mmhpi

Today we're holding our virtual conference looking at how #FinancialServices services can help to reduce #Gambling harms.

The event kicks off at 9.30am. We'll be tweeting all the highlights here, but you can join the event by registering here: hopin.to/events/how-fin…

@katie_alpin gets us underway. She talks about the links between problem #gambling & #MentalHealth issues being a long term area of focus for @mmhpi - and that these issues have only become more acute during the pandemic

@katie_alpin Our first key note speaker of the day is Neil McArthur, Chief Executive of @GamRegGB. Neil talks about the complexity of tackling #gambling harms & the need for a wide range of agencies to collaborate in doing so - including #FinancialServices

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Neil says that 340,000 people in GB are problem gamblers. While that rate isn't increasing, it isn't falling either - which is what @GamRegGB wants to see

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Using diverse experts leads to better solutions to tackling problem #gambling - which is why @GamRegGB wants to work with partners including #FinancialServices

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Neil says that the evidence from people with lived experience of problem #gambling shows that opportunities to help people are being missed. #FinancialServices can play a key role - @GamRegGB want to work with the sector to to support vulnerable people

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Our next speaker is Nicky Davies, who is a member of @mmhpi's research Community & who has personal experience of struggling with #gambling issues

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Nicky says that she quickly went from making small bets on machines, to taking out a bank loan to spending thousands of pounds on an online card game

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Nicky says it has been a desperate struggle to pay back the loans, and that she'll be repaying the #debt for the next 14 years. She says that #gambling doesn't give her a buzz - but she finds it hard to avoid when she's struggling with her #MentalHealth

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Nicky would like to see banks take a more proactive approach to using transaction data to identify when people might be struggling with #gambling, and to intervene to give people support. She says that could make the difference between people getting into more #gambling harm

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Thanks to Nicky for sharing her experiences so openly & powerfully - it is so important that the discussions today are grounded in the experiences of people who have been personally affected by #gambling harms

@katie_alpin @GamRegGB Our next keynote speaker is @ArtScienceDoc, founder of the National Problem Gambling Clinic. Henrietta says that the estimated life losses people experience from #gambling can contribute to people becoming suicidal - especially given the taboo around problem #gambling

@ArtScienceDoc says that the banning of #gambling on credit has made a real difference - though the 24/7 availability of #gambling online leaves people feeling there is no escape. Free money offers from #gambling companies also target vulnerable people in particular

Henrietta says that clinicians need to work with banks on exploring the opportunities transaction data presents to understand the full extent of people's gambling problems.

Great to hear from @ArtScienceDoc that innovations in how banks support customers with #gambling problems are already having a real impact - lots of scope for further action & collaboration in this space

Thanks to all our morning speakers - they've given us a real sense of the scale of the issues around problem #gambling, why it's so important to address them, and the big opportunities that exist for #FinancialServices to help with this.

We're getting under way with our first panel of the morning, looking at the exciting steps banks are already taking to address #gambling harms. Joining us are @natalie_ledward from @monzo, Charlotte Grannan from @NatWest_Help & Matt Robinson from @Barclays

Charlotte Grannan from @NatWest_Help is up first. She talks about the bank's partnership with @GamCare to offer customers 1-1 support in branches. That has been paused because of lockdown measures. but will be rolled out more widely once it is safe to do so

Charlotte also says that Natwest has partnered with @Money_Advice to improve support with customers with addiction issues - including #gambling problems

Next up is @natalie_ledward from @monzo. She says the most prominent vulnerabilities the bank sees among customers focus on #MentalHealth & #gambling - which led to the bank introducing the first #gambling block in 2018.

@monzo worked with @pfrc_uk to build a 48 hour 'cooling off' period into the gambling block. She says that a significant portion of the bank's customers use the gambling block, and of those who use it only 10% have turned it off.

@natalie_ledward says Monzo's #gambling block has been very popular. Its launch led to the biggest number of sign ups @monzo ever had, and helped to kick off the discussion on how #FinancialServices can help to support customers with #gambling issues

Now we're hearing from Matt Robinson from @Barclays' Customer Vulnerability Strategy Team. Matt says that the bank's analysis shows that #gambling among its customers has gone up by 32% in 2020

Matt talks about @Barclays' ongoing work to explore how it can use transaction data to spot when customers are struggling with #gambling issues, and to offer support. The idea is not to diagnose customers - but to help them get the support they need

Matt also talks about the influence of @TheFCA's vulnerability guidance in encouraging firms to use data to support customers affected by issues such as #gambling

Now we are opening the panel to Qs from the audience. In response to a Q about responding to customer appetite, @natalie_ledward talks about the importance of user-research - finding out from customers how effective @monzo's gambling block is, what would make it work better

Charlotte from @NatWest_Help adds that it's crucial to engage with frontline staff on what they're hearing from customers, as well as engaging with experts such as charities in this space - to find out what customers want in terms of support with #gambling

Matt from @Barclays that there was nervousness within the firm about using data to support customers with #gambling issues. But testing it with customers showed that it was the right thing to do, and that there is appetite for this kind of support

Another Q from the floor - how do banks go about proactively promoting the tools it offers to help with #gambling issues?

@natalie_ledward from @monzo says only 30% of customers use the firm as their main account - so it can be hard to see how many are affected by #gambling issues. The bank therefore has to be sensitive in reaching out to customers about these issues

Charlotte from @NatWest_Help says there an industry-wide need to work together on developing approaches to identifying customers at risk of #gambling harms, and exploring the best ways to reach out to people with support

Matt from @Barclays adds that reaching out proactively can be a delicate thing to do, especially given that some customers affected by #gambling issues won't have opened up to their loved ones about what they're going through.

Another great Q - what can banks to do to support people who are affected by other people's #gambling behaviour?

@natalie_ledward says @monzo were surprised to find out that many people using their gambling block do so because someone close to them was affected by #gambling issues - rather than the customer themselves.

Now we're talking about the potential benefits of #OpenBanking for tackling #gambling harms. The panel agree that an industry wide approach to using these innovations is something that could really help - and that they are keen to pursue

A question from Charles Randell, Chair of @TheFCA about where financing of #gambling may have gone to following the ban on credit cards. The panel say that it is hard to tell as yet - but again that this something the industry needs to look together again

That wraps our first panel - thanks to all our great speakers! We'll be back at 11.35 for our next discussion on the potential next steps for banks in reducing gambling harms - featuring @carolynharris24, @GamCareCEO, @TimMillerTweets, @DannyCheetham & @GamCareCEO

And we're back - our next panel looks at what banks can do to next to improve support for people with #gambling issues, what the next innovations could be, and how regulation might help with this work

Our first speaker is @DannyCheetham who is talking about his personal experiences of #gambling issues, how it affected his use of money & #mental wellbeing, and how @monzo's gambling block made a big difference in helping him manage those issues

@DannyCheetham also talks about the value of @gambanapp and other apps in helping to manage #gambling issues & how being able to put a spending limit on his account helped. He says joint work from these different organisations could make a big difference in supporting people

Next up is @TimMillerTweets from @GamRegGB. He talks about the role that #FinancialServices can play in helping customers to recognise gambling issues, and to tackle the taboo around problem #gambling

@TimMillerTweets says that @GamRegGB wants to work with any organisation who want to help contribute to reducing #gambling harms & that there are great opportunities for #FinancialServices to help lead this work

Our next speaker is @carolynharris24, who is Chair of @GRHAPPG. Carolyn says that she strongly commends banks for having introduced gambling blocks. She also talks about the ban on #gambling via credit cards as a great step forward

But @carolynharris24 also says that we need a wider approach across society to tackling #gambling harms. She says that she has great ambition for the government's forthcoming review of the Gambling Act - it is a crucial chance to update laws for the digital age

@carolynharris24 finishes by urging #FinancialServices to join the @GRHAPPG in pushing the government to be ambitious on delivering real reforms in its review of the Gambling Act in the next year

Next up is @chris_fitch from @pfrc_uk & @Money_Advice . He starts by asking what can #FinancialServices do tomorrow to improve #gambling support - and by pointing out that action can start now

@chris_fitch talks about the need for the Financial Conduct Authority to take the lead on these issues, given its role in regulating spread betting. He also points to the FCA's vulnerability guidance as giving #financial firms the impetus to take action on #gambling harms

Our final speaker on the panel is @GamCareCEO Anna Hemmings. Anna says that the charity's service users say that banks can do a lot to help them with #gambling issues, and that these problems should be treated as a financial vulnerability.

@GamCareCEO talks about the importance of gambling blocks, but also of banks ensuring that frontline staff get the training they need to support people with #gambling issues. She also talks about the need for consistent signposting by banks, debt advisers & other organisations.

Now for Qs from the virtual floor. The first is about what regulators/gambling firms can learn from lenders on how affordability checks are carried out. @TimMillerTweets says that @GamRegGB is publishing a consultation on this in the coming weeks & encourages firms to contribute

@chris_fitch adds that we need to recognised that #FinancialServcies is more than banks - the debt advice sector and Credit Reference Agencies can also help with affordability issues.

@chrisfitch says that Credit reference Agencies can also help by offering tools to consumers to help with 'gambling issues - such as enabling people to opt out of credit through notices of corrections

@GamCareCEO stresses the importance of collaboration in reducing #gambling harms. There is no one silver bullet to resolve these issues, but banks, regulators and advisers all need to work together to improve support. She would like to see the FCA contribute to these discussions

@chris_fitch talks about how #FinancialServices can be cautious - and that fears of the worst possible outcome can stop firms from acting. This points to the importance of evidence & he encourages firms to publish research they've done so that others can learn from it

Our next Q is about the government's upcoming review of the gambling act - what implications might it have for financial firms & what would the panel like to see in it?

@TimMillerTweets says it has be to an opportunity to ask what more a wider range of actors can do to reduce #gambling harms, in a strategic wat But he also says that we can't wait for that review to take place - it should not be an excuse for inaction

@chris_fitch says that as part of the review, there needs to be more clarity on what financial firms can do with data. Is gambling data personal data or special category data - and how can financial firms use it? This needs to be made clearer for firms

@GamCareCEO says that the charity's service users welcome more support from banks - and that firms should not be afraid of acting, ahead of any changes to the Gambling Act next year

@chris_fitch finishes his remarks by again stressing the need to for more work & exploration of the opportunities presented by data to tackle #gambling harms

@DannyCheetham finishes up the session by reminding us all that the gambling industry is changing all the time - how we gamble is different to our parent's generation, and will be different again with future generations. #FinancialServices need tp keep pace with those changes

That's all from our panel. Thanks to all our great speakers! @katie_alpin is now closing with final remarks.

Thanks to everyone who has taken part in the day. We will be making today's talks available on line soon - so watch this space for more details!