Gambling Commission CEO insists UK government remains committed to reform

Despite ongoing delays in the Gambling Act review, Andrew Rhodes says the government is determined to act.

UK.- Andrew Rhodes, CEO of the British Gambling Commission, has insisted reform is still a government priority. 

Speaking to Racing TV via a video link, Rhodes was asked about the potential results of the Gambling Act review, which began in 2020 and has already passed through the hands of five ministers. Rhodes said the regulator continued to cooperate with the government but couldn’t pre-empt the content of the gambling white paper.

He told Racing TV: “We’ve obviously been talking to the government throughout the development of the White Paper. The government has made clear that it thinks something needs to happen in this space.”

Rhodes also made comments that seem to support reports that some form of mandatory affordability check will be included in new gambling legislation. He expressed impatience at repeat cases of gamblers losing more than they could afford and insisted that affordability checks were “not a moral judgement on what people should spend their money on”.

He suggested the focus would be on customers who lose more than they earn or who spend high sums in a short amount of time. Such cases have led the Gambling Commission to issue fines against several operators in the last year, including giants such as Entain and 888.

Rhodes said: “We have to guard against that and that’s a part of our obligations, and that’s really where we want the industry to be focused – making sure that they are reducing the level of risk for consumers in that area.”

He said the Gambling Commission had contributed evidence, statistical research and detailed analysis to help inform the gambling white paper, including data on player behaviour and harm rates. It’s been noted that the gambling harm rate in the UK is at a record low, but Rhodes suggested this was due to the high volume of customers and stakes.

He said: “The reality is there are risks that are present in the industry now that need to be addressed and that’s what we’ve been focused on. As I said, it’s in that range of customers that are experiencing harm or are likely to and it’s the sort of extreme cases that we’ve been drawing attention to during the last few years.”