UK MP: Gambling review indecision causing “uncertainty for customers and businesses”

Jo Gideon says the Gambling Commission must ensure proposals are in keeping with the political direction set by the government.

UK.- The Conservative member of parliament for Stoke Central, Jo Gideon, has expressed concerns over the drawn-out response to the UK government’s ongoing review of gambling legislation. The government published its long-delayed Gambling White Paper in May but left many matters to be decided after more consultations.

Both the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Gambling Commission have made a start on those consultations in recent months, but Gideon said that indecision was causing “uncertainty for customers and businesses”. Writing an op-ed for the industry lobby group the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) she said that the Gambling Commission needed to follow the government’s political direction.

She wrote: “The Gambling Commission must ensure their consultations and the final proposals that emerge from them are in keeping with the political direction this government has set. That is particularly true on the thorny issue of affordability checks. When these were proposed as part of the white paper, we were told they would be frictionless and occur without customers being aware. 

“That must be the case, or it risks driving punters from the regulated sector toward unregulated, unsafe operators on the black market.”

The Gambling Commission’s current consultations on financial risk checks, game design, customer marketing choices and age verification for land-based gambling close on October 18. After that, another round of consultation will focus on the proposed gambling levy to fund research, education and treatment.

Gideon mentioned the gambling industry’s impact in her own constituency in Stoke-on-Trent, where bet365 is based. She said that the company was taking part in the government’s ‘Levelling Up’ initiative, which aims to boost the economies of provincial areas.

She argued that the White Paper was ‘balanced, proportionate, and made crucial decisions in line with the evidence’. She welcomed proposed measures such as creating a gambling ombudsman and introducing spending checks and measures to allow the modernisation of land-based casinos.