UK gambling: BGC welcomes re-election of Dame Caroline Dinenage to DCMS committee

Dame Caroline Dinenage has been re-elected as chair of the Culture, Media and Sports Committee.

UK.- The UK gambling lobby group the Betting and Gaming Council has welcomed the re-election of Dame Caroline Dinenage to the DCMS committee. As announced by House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Conservative MP, who represents Gosport, will continue to supervise the department including its responsibility for gambling policy.

Dinenage said: “I’m delighted to be re-elected to Chair the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and entrusted to build on our achievements in the last parliament. These sectors are our global economic super-power, they have remarkable abilities to drive regeneration and bring communities together. I will continue to work cross-party to ensure the government doesn’t take them for granted and they continue to fire on all cylinders.”

Dame Caroline Dinenage

BGC response

The BGC’s new CEO Grainne Hurst wrote in a letter to Dame Dinenage: “On behalf of our members, the 110,000 people whose jobs rely on the regulated betting and gaming industry, and the 22.5 million people who enjoy a bet each month, I’d like to congratulate Caroline on her re-election as Chair of the Committee.

“I’m delighted that Caroline will continue to bring her wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for the sector to this critical role in Westminster and we look forward to working with her and the team on the Committee. From high streets to hospitality, from tourism to tech, our members generate £4.2bn in taxes for the Treasury and contribute £7.1bn to the wider economy. 

“The BGC and our members remain committed to implementing changes outlined in the White Paper, ensuring those measures get the balance right between protecting the vulnerable, while allowing the vast majority of punters who enjoy betting responsibly to continue doing so without unnecessary intrusion.”

Meanwhile, the Gambling Commission has published the latest figures from the new Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB). The data suggests that gambling participation remained steady in the period from January 15 to April 28 of this year.

Based on a larger sample size of 5,191, the survey found that gambling participation was level with the same period last year at 48 per cent.