New GamScore App Seeks to Reduce Friction Around Gambling Checks

A new gambling ‘wellbeing’ app called GamScore has positioned itself right in the middle of one of the UK gambling industry’s most heated debates: financial risk checks.

The app is due to launch in October 2026. It aims to give bettors a real-time view of their gambling activity. For operators, it will also provide a way to manage compliance requirements surrounding affordability. It has been developed by Josh Apiafi (former Betfair and Rewards4Racing executive) and Phill Adams (founder of UKGC-licensed esports tote operator Punt).

What is GamScore?

At first glance, GamScore looks similar to some other responsible gambling tools, but on closer inspection, it’s a little more sophisticated.

The platform plans to use open banking alongside AI-driven behavioural analysis. It will use this to monitor changes in a user’s betting activity throughout the day. According to its creators, the app will refresh up to three times daily, generating a live ‘score’ each time. This score will flag any potential signs of financial stress or harmful gambling behaviour.

Crucially, operators can access this score. This could offer an alternative to the static financial risk checks currently being trialled by the UKGC.

The app’s creators also say that future versions will keep track of compliance requirements across multiple operators. This avoids users needing to repeatedly submit financial documents with different bookmakers. Apiafi describes the system as a ‘lower-friction, user-controlled alternative’ to financial risk checks, one that remains owned by the bettor rather than by operators.

Tackling the Black Market

GamScore claims it will be able to identify deposits linked to unlicensed operators through open banking data. It’ll use this information to warn users when money is being sent to offshore sites.

This part might be incredibly valuable. As unlicensed sites become increasingly hard to separate from licensed ones, receiving a warning from a trusted company could help those gamblers who simply didn’t know they were on an unlicensed site to move back to a safe site instead.

As well as this, it could provide valuable insight into the true scale of black-market gambling activity, something that has become increasingly central to industry lobbying efforts.

The British Horseracing Authority has already described the app as an ‘interesting intervention’ in the affordability checks debate. They add that any solution capable of improving player safety without introducing major friction is ‘worth considering’.

Whether GamScore genuinely reduces friction or simply introduces a different form of monitoring remains to be seen. But, its arrival highlights how rapidly the industry is moving towards technology-led compliance solutions.