Stakeholders voice frustration at slow progress of UK gambling reforms

Witnesses have presented views to the DCMS select committee’s inquiry into the gambling review.

UK.- Stakeholders have told UK MPs of their frustration with the pace of gambling reforms. Witnesses gave oral evidence in a session held as part of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s MS select committee’s inquiry into the gambling review.

After industry stakeholders including the trade bodies BGC and Bacta gave their opinions in an earlier session, the latest sessions heard from policy advisors and treatment experts.

The policy advisor Dr James Noyes welcomed the publication of the gambling white paper as “a symbolic step” towards reform but said it had shortcomings. Meanwhile, Glasgow University professor Heather Wardle and clinical lead for the NHS Northern Gambling Service Dr Matthew Gaskell expressed disappointment at the lack of reforms on gambling advertising, marketing and sponsorship.

Criticising the decision to leave the Premier League to self-regulate a voluntary ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship, Gaskell said the white paper was “a huge miss on advertising, very weak on marketing and sponsorship of our national sports”.

He said research suggested that front-of-shirt sponsorship accounted for only 5 per cent of gambling logos seen during live Premier League matches.

Wardle said: “The advertising and marketing proposals do not go far enough. They are not based on the evidence, where we do have strong evidence for action on advertising and marketing.”

The witnesses also criticised the number of areas that were left for further consultations. The Gambling Commission expects to launch four consultations stemming from the white paper this month. Noyes said that the way these are approached will influence on policy.

“One of the main messages that I want to convey today is how vital it is that there is a coherent and joined-up approach throughout this process and that the various consultations and topics don’t break off from each other in silos,” he said.

He called for regulators and government departments should collaborate, warning that it was not clear whether the Gambling Commission “has the bandwidth or the resources to carry them out as well as fulfil its ongoing duties of licensing and compliance”.

The panel also criticised gambling industry lobbying, including examples of MPs receiving hospitality. Wardle said it was important that “the policy decisions that need to be made are insulated from industry influence”.