The UK government has confirmed that consultations on the provisions of the Gambling Act review introduced with the Gambling White Paper will be completed in time for the 2024 general election.
Ministry and Gambling Commission Team Up for Gambling Act Review Consultations
The consultations will be led by the Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The more technical aspects of the white paper will be put to consultation to ensure the ministry is following due process and to prevent further delays.
The government is calling for a new approach that recognizes a flutter is one thing, and unchecked addiction is another. The goal is to ensure that everything will be introduced and in place by the summer of next year, so in time for the next general election.
According to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport, Gambling, and Civil Society, Stuart Andrew, the responsibility for conducting the consultations will be split between the ministry and the Gambling Commission.
The minister stated he had no concerns about the resources the Commission will be granted in order to effectively do this work. Andrew also suggested provisions outlined in the white paper will not be the last word on reform.
Levy Decision Deferred as Government Conducts Consultation Over Summer
In the consultations, affordability checks will be tested through the calculation process to ensure it is as frictionless as possible. The Gambling Commission will work alongside the Financial Conduct Authority and the Information Commissioners Office to ensure the checks are technically feasible.
However, Andrew would not commit to a specific level for the levy. A consultation over the summer will determine how it is applied to smaller and land-based operators, which will also be able to increase the number of slot machines in their casinos from 20 to 80.
Andrew said that they had listened to a lot of recommendations and suggestions that came from various groups they had been meeting with, and those would formulate their thinking as they develop further. The minister added that the levy might not be set at a flat rate but instead depend on the risk profile of the particular gambling operator.
Campaigners for gambling-related harms have called for the proposals to be put in place immediately, without further consultations. Carolyn Harris, a Labour MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling-related harms, called for a stop to lining the pockets of an industry who’ve had it their own way for far too long.
According to Liz Ritchie, the co-founder of the charity Gambling with Lives, the reforms indicated that campaigners had succeeded in winning the argument against a powerful gambling lobby. However, she noted that there was still much more work to be done. Ritchie stated that they had won concessions on some of the key areas, but there was a need to reduce the harm caused by one of the most loosely regulated gambling industries in the world.