How the odd bet on football could cost you a mortgage
While having the odd bet on your football team to win at the weekend sounds like a bit of harmless fun, it could actually scupper your chances of getting a mortgage.
Lenders have always been cautious when it comes to approving mortgages, but some brokers have noticed that even the odd gambling transaction is now viewed as a red flag.
Typically, borrowers will be judged on a range of factors, including their income, age, credit utilisation and payment history, when they submit a mortgage application.
The exact requirements to be approved for a mortgage can vary depending on the lender.
Joe Childes, mortgage adviser at Right Choice Mortgages, told the Money blog he had recently seen banks declining applications based on gambling transactions on clients’ bank statements, even if it’s just the odd flutter.
“The tolerance for gambling transactions seems to vary from lender to lender,” he said.
“We have seen cases declined where clients have separate accounts for placing bets, but even just those who bet on the football at the weekend.
“Gambling transactions can be questioned by the underwriter, or in some cases we have seen straight declines with no grounds for appeal.”
On LinkedIn, he raised one case where his clients had filed a joint application, had no forms of credit in the background and were asking for a mortgage of less than 50% loan-to-value ratio, but were declined twice.
The pair were never in their overdraft and had £5,000 in their current account.
Pic: iStock
“These are football bets only, and just present on one statement out of the past three. Affordability for the level of transactions seen is not a concern,” he said.
He questioned whether banks would make the same decision for those who excessively drink or smoke, or those who go to their local bookies and use cash to place bets.
“If the client can afford the spending, is it right to dictate how they use their hard-earned money?” he asked.
What bets could cause an issue?
Mr Childes said it was “habitual spending” on betting that appeared to spark most concern with lenders, even if clients could easily afford how much they were putting down.
“For some clients, betting on the football, for example, can be a hobby and the amount spent is not excessive in relation to their income,” he said.
“However, we have seen applications from these clients declined even where the clients are not under financial pressure and can maintain the level of spending.”
This story originally ran in the award-winning Sky News Money blog – click here to read more
People should be aware that underwriters will review their bank statements when they apply for a mortgage, and gambling transactions are likely to be questioned.
“If the number of transactions seen through your account are considered to be excessive, this could lead to your mortgage application being declined,” Mr Childes said.
Lenders haven’t been able to clarify what their “tolerance level” for gambling is, he added, with many saying it is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The major lenders’ gambling policies
We asked all the major lenders to explain their gambling policies to the Money team – here’s what they said:
Santander
The high-street bank doesn’t have any specific gambling related policies for mortgage customers.
Instead, it undertakes affordability assessments when considering new mortgage applications.
This includes an assessment of a customer’s bank statements, which considers all their outgoings to make sure monthly repayments are affordable.
Barclays
Barclays said it did not have any set rules when it comes to gambling: “We ensure all mortgages are affordable before we offer them, including testing at higher interest rates.”
Nationwide
As a “responsible lender”, Nationwide said it aimed to ensure customers can afford their mortgage payments now and in the future.
It said each application was assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking a range of factors into account to determine how much can be borrowed.
We also contacted HSBC, Natwest and Lloyds – but they didn’t get back to us.
Pic: PA
What should you do?
If you think your gambling habits might be causing you a problem, there are steps you can take.
Matt Zarb-Cousin, co-founder of gambling blocking software Gamban, said people should start to look at their behaviour if they are chasing losses, preoccupied with gambling and thinking about their next bet, and losing interest in other activities.
“These behaviours will often lead to such significant loss-chasing in a gambling session that it causes significant financial harm that can impact you for weeks or even months,” he said.
“Being able to spot the signs before it reaches that point, and quitting, can prevent this from occurring in the first place.”
If you want to quit online gambling, talkbanstop.com offers free tools and support.
Banks also offer the option to block gambling transactions, which provides another layer of friction that can help prevent relapse, Mr Zarb-Cousin said.
“Gambling transactions can affect mortgage applications, but the primary concern of lenders is you’re not getting into debt to fund gambling,” he said.
He pointed out that lenders often look at bank statements from the past three to six months, so even quitting for that amount of time before applying could put you in a better position.
Business
In Halifax’s night-time economy, no one is holding back over what is required in the budget
In the upstairs bar of a slick new brewery, the cheese-lovers of Halifax are paying “homage to fromage”.
It is one of the first events in the historic West Yorkshire town for the monthly cheese club and there is a decent turn-out.
Sky News visited Halifax’s clubs, bars and restaurants to get an insight into people’s priorities
The night-time economy in Halifax is a useful measure of how the landscapes of our town and cities have changed
Discussion of Wednesday’s budget is not as popular as an accompaniment to the cheese as the selection of wines. But no one holds back on what is required of the chancellor.
Natalie Rogers, who runs her own small business with her partner, said there needs to be focus.
Small business owner Natalie Rogers wants to see more investment in local industries
“I think investing in small businesses, investing in these northern towns, where at one time we were making all the money for the country, can we not get back to that? We’re not investing in local industries.”
At the next table, with a group of friends, Ali Fletcher said there needs to be bigger targets.
“I think wealth inequality is a major problem. The divide is getting wider. For me, a wealth tax is absolutely critical. We need to address this question of ‘Is there any money left?’. There’s plenty of money, it’s all about choices that government make.”
At this monthly cheese club, people told us about their priorities ahead of the budget
The evening’s cheese tasting was being marshalled by Lisa Kempster. “The impression I get from talking to people is there’s a lot of uncertainty, but when you ask them what they’re uncertain about, they’re not really sure, there’s just a general feeling of uncertainty and being cautious.”
Ali Fletcher reckons wealth inequality is a major problem
Read more:
Budget will be big – and Starmer has some serious convincing to do
Reeves vows to ‘grip the cost of living’
What tax rises could chancellor announce?
This corner of Halifax, close to the town’s historic Piece Hall, is buzzing with clubs, bars and restaurants, trying hard to defy the crunch in the night-time economy. It is a useful measure of how the landscapes of our town and cities has changed.
“Whenever there’s a budget, for a few days afterwards, there’s a drop off in trade,” said Michael Ainsworth, owner of the Graystone Unity, a bar and music venue in the town.
“I accept the government needs to raise money but, in this day and age, there’s better ways to go about doing that, like closing tax loopholes for the huge businesses to operate up with banking arrangements outside the UK.”
Michael Ainsworth owns a bar and music venue and thinks the chancellor needs to close tax loopholes
In the bar, a folk singer is going through a quirky and caustic set. In the basement, a punk band called Edward Molby is considerably louder.
On a sofa in the main bar, recent graduates Josh Kinsella and Ruby Firth, newly arrived in Halifax because of its more affordable housing, pinpoint what they want on Wednesday.
“Can we stop triple-locking the pensions, please? Stop giving pensioners everything. For God’s sake, I know they have hard times in the 70s and the 80s, but it just feels like we’re now paying for everyone else.”
Josh Kinsella and Ruby Firth feel there’s too much focus on pensioners
Ben Randm is a familiar face at the bar and well known on the music scene with his band, Silver Tongued Rascals.
“Everyday people are seen as statistics, we’re always the afterthought. When the cuts are done, we’re always impeded and the ramifications that has for people’s livelihoods, for people’s mental health, for people’s passion and drive… it’s such a struggle.”
He, like many in the night-time economy sector, wants extra help for hospitality and venues that, he says, provide a vital community link.
Ben Randm who has his own band reckons everyday people are ‘always the afterthought’
David Van Gestel chose Halifax to open the third branch of MAMIL, a bar in jokey honour of those cycling “middle-aged men in Lycra”. On a busy quiz night, he said venues had to provide something different to get people out of their homes.
“I think the government needs to start putting some initiatives in place. They talk about growth but the reality is that the only thing we’re seeing grow is our costs.”
There’s a lot going on at TikTok right now.
As well as online safety updates and new features, the company is introducing sweeping changes to how it moderates the platform’s content.
At the same time, there’s an intense focus on online safety, particularly here in the UK.
With all that going on, Sky News got a rare, exclusive sit-down with one of TikTok’s senior safety executives, Ali Law.
The increasing role of artificial intelligence
One of the biggest changes happening at TikTok is around artificial intelligence.
Like most social media companies, TikTok has used AI to help moderate its platform for years – it is useful for sifting out content that obviously violates policies, and TikTok says it now removes around 85% of violative content without getting a human involved.
File pic: Reuters
Now, it is increasing its use of AI and will be relying less on human moderators. So what’s changed that means TikTok is confident AI can keep young users safe?
“One of the things that has changed is really the sophistication of those models,” said Mr Law, who is TikTok’s director of public policy and government affairs for northern Europe. He explained that AI is now better able to understand context.
“A great example is being able to identify a weapon.”
Whereas previous models may have been able to identify a knife, newer models can tell the difference between a knife being used in a cooking video and a knife in a graphic, violent encounter, according to Mr Law.
“We set a high benchmark when it comes to rolling out new moderation technology.
“In particular, we make sure that we satisfy ourselves that the output of existing moderation processes is either matched or exceeded by anything that we’re doing on a new basis.
“We also make sure the changes are introduced on a gradual basis with human oversight so that if there isn’t a level of delivery in line with what we expect, we can address that.”
Human moderator jobs being cut
That increasing use of AI means TikTok will rely less on its network of tens of thousands of human moderators around the world.
TikTok moderators and union workers protested outside the company’s London headquarters over job cuts
In London alone, the company is proposing to cut more than 400 moderator jobs, although there are reports a number of those jobs will be rehired in other countries.
On 30 October, Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC union, said “time and time again” TikTok had “failed to provide a good enough answer” about how the cuts would impact the safety of UK users.
Ali Law speaks to Sky News from TikTok’s European headquarters in Dublin
When Sky News asked if Mr Law could ensure UK users’ safety after the cuts, he said the company’s focus is “always on outcomes”.
“Our focus is on making sure the platform is as safe as possible.
“We will make deployments of the most advanced technology in order to achieve that, working with the many thousands of trust and safety professionals that we will have at TikTok around the world on an ongoing basis.”
Dame Chi Onwurah speaks at the House of Commons. File pic: Reuters
The UK’s science, technology and innovation committee, led by Labour MP Chi Onwurah, has issued a probe into the cuts, with Ms Onwurah calling them “deeply concerning”.
She said AI “just isn’t reliable or safe enough to take on work like this” and there was a “real risk” to UK users.
However, Mr Law said that, as a parent himself, he is “also highly concerned and highly interested in issues of online safety”.
“That’s why I’m so confident in the changes that we are making at TikTok in terms of content moderation as a whole,” he said.
“The power really comes in the combination of the best technology and human experts working together, and that still is the case at TikTok and it will be going forwards as well.”
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UK’s online safety rules: One month on
New wellness tools
The interview came at the end of an online safety event at TikTok’s Dublin office, its European headquarters.
During the conference, the company announced a number of new features designed to increase user safety, including a new in-app Time and Wellbeing hub for TikTok users.
The hub is designed with the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and gamifies mindfulness techniques like affirmations, not using TikTok during the night and lowering your screentime.
Ali Law, TikTok’s director of public policy and government affairs for northern Europe
Read more from Sky News:
Meta to block Instagram and Facebook for users under 16 in Australia
Half of novelists fear AI will replace them entirely, survey finds
How violent extremists are thriving online – and why it’s getting harder to catch them
Cori Stott, executive director of the digital wellness lab, said many people use their phones to “set their wellbeing, to reset their emotions, to find these safe spaces, and also to find entertainment”.
The hub was built as part of the TikTok app because young people want wellness tools “where they already are”, without needing to go to a different app, she said.
Still, there are plenty of reports suggesting that phone use and social media has a damaging effect on young people’s mental health… is TikTok trying to solve a problem of its own creation?
“If you are a teen on the app, you will load up and find that you have, if you’re under 16, a private profile, no access to direct messaging, a screen time limit set at an hour, [and at] 10pm sleep hour suggestion,” said Mr Law.
“So the experience is one that does try and promote a balanced approach to using the app and make sure that people have the options to set their own guardrails around this,” he said.
“I think the other thing I’d say is that the content on TikTok is, in the main, inspiring, surprising, creative.”
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