GBGC: UK gambling, change is coming
Minister Chris Philp’s closing words at the Gambling Reform Rally were: “Change is needed, and change is coming”.
Press release.- Change is needed, and change is coming. Such were the closing words of Minister Chris Philp’s speech at the Gambling Reform Rally in March 2022.
The UK gambling sector is still awaiting the publication for the government’s white paper but, judging by the minister’s speech, it is clear that substantial regulatory reform is being planned.
In his speech, Single Customer View and affordability checks were again mentioned:
One is the Single Customer View, which is where there is a process of data sharing, and secondly, affordability checks…
But there are definitely levels of more significant gambling losses where proper checks should be done. That is the kind of intervention we’re looking at, in a way that is proportionate and balanced.
The minister also claimed that “everyone is at risk of developing a gambling addiction, but many people are able to gamble reasonably.”
It is estimated that 0.5% of the adult population in the UK are problem gamblers, so the vast majority gamble reasonably.
One area that is under scrutiny is gambling sponsorship of sports, especially football. There was already a “fan-led” review of football governance being undertaken even before the government sanctions applied to Chelsea FC in March 2022.
Those sanctions led to articles claiming it is a “moment of reckoning” for football ownership in the UK. It is not hard to envisage gambling football sponsorship being swept up in a broader move to ‘clean up’ football’s ownership and finances.
