Seriously, Where Is The Gambling White Paper?

The United Kingdom has gone through many changes over the past year and one of the biggest problems it has suffered is a lack of stability in government. After revelations about his lockdown parties arose, former PM Boris Johnson resigned. It was then left for Liz Truss to step up to the role after election by the Conservative members. She lasted little more than one month in power before resigning from the position. In doing so, she became the country’s shortest serving leader. More recently, Rishi Sunak has taken control as Prime Minister.

The UK is still waiting to see what he can do to solve the various problems. Yet all the chopping and changing has led to delays in many areas. One of those areas is the delay in the publishing of the gambling reform white paper. This had already seen months of setbacks before Johnson resigned. Now, it seems to have disappeared into the ether, with other things taking more prominence. Where exactly is the white paper, though? It hasn’t vanished into thin air. Is anyone working on it right now? When can we expect its publication, if at all?

Will Rishi Sunak places more of a focus on gambling reform? Well, considering his constituency in Richmond, he’s not likely to change much, if anything.

His appointment to the PM position was something that the BGC saw as a good thing. Sunak is also well aware of the mass of money that the government gets from the gambling sector. He has expressed his views on gambling reform before, too. In March of 2022, he penned a letter saying that affordability checks could be bad for the industry. He spoke of the millions that it could cost in gambling taxes. That wasn’t the first time he spoke out in support of gambling as it is, either.

What does that mean for the white paper, though? Will the country ever see gambling reform come into effect? Under Sunak, it’s likely to be a lot less impactful than it could have been before.

Back to the Beginning

At the start of 2020, people were already calling for a new gambling act on gambling. A main review of the industry hadn’t occurred since 2001. By 2005, the Gambling Act of the country governed over the the industry and this has continued to do so ever since. Yet, many people believe it doesn’t work well enough for today’s digital gambling age.

Due to this, calls for gambling reform began and various other reasons sprung to light about why new legislation on gambling in the UK is necessary. This included the lack of consideration from gambling companies towards vulnerable people. Criticisms of the UK Gambling Commission were also noted. Many suggested that the regulatory body is no longer fit for purpose.

As the end of 2020 approached, the government took notice of the demands of the country.  Labour had also included a review of the gambling act in their 2019 election manifesto, which led to the Johnson and the Tory party reluctantly agreeing to a review of existing laws.

As a result, the government called for further information and details surrounding the issues. It seems as though it received enough insight to launch a review and people began to speculate on what the new gambling rules would be once launched.

Campaigners were responsible for the reduction in bet limits on fixed odds betting terminals in 2018. This meant that no more than £2 per round on a game was possible. Because of this, some believed that the new rules would install similar changes online, too. Other potential changes included affordability checks and elimination of VIP schemes. Deposit limits and loss limits were also brought up as a potential alteration. Other potential changes to the law included:

• Restrictions on promotions for new and existing customers
• New rules for new games
• Monitoring of customers and sharing of information
• Control over the black market

Of course, those rule changes were only rumours. Nothing was ever confirmed or denied by the Gambling Commission or the government. It did highlight the various areas that campaigners wanted to see changes in, though.

The information given in the initial stages was that a white paper on gambling reform was coming. Publication for that should have taken place in 2021. Unfortunately, this never came to light in the month necessary. Instead, there was a cabinet reshuffle in government midway through the year. This saw a new role come to light for Nadine Dorries. She became Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. As a result, she took over leadership of the gambling regulation in the UK.

As it happens, she had little clue on how to handle things in that department at all. Many have speculated on her relationship with then-PM Boris Johnson. Despite her claiming otherwise, people insist that she only got the job because of her fondness for him. People had to look back to 2014 to find out anything about her gambling views. At the time, a vote came about suggesting local councils should control FOBTs. She voted against that, suggesting she is in favour of a less controlled market. Dorries also said evidence linking gambling to suicide was “unreliable” in 2020.

For most people, it was clear that she would do little to change the industry for the better. After all, her status as a Tory meant that capitalism was likely her prime focus. Clamping down on the gambling industry would negate that focus in various ways. When Johnson resigned, she no longer had to lead the industry she knew little about. In September of 2022, she returned to the backbenches.

Changes in Leadership Delay White Paper Even More

The entirety of 2021 passed by and no white paper even came to light. Postponements led its publication date to be put back 2022. It should have been available in January of that year. Then, it was once again postponed due to in-fighting within the government. With Johnson resigning part way through the year, it was once again put on the shelf. The former PM received advice stating that he could not publish proposals until they had a new Conservative leader.

Some did believe that the white paper would go ahead before his resignation, though. Investigations into the government were taking place in 2022, with partygate and beergate were two of the main ones, giving an overall unreliable view of the government.

If people found them untrustworthy before, they were in an even worse position after. Publishing the gambling white paper may have taken attention away from those issues and it’s not uncommon for the government to make such moves. Distract people with something else to remove focus from bigger problems. It wouldn’t be inconceivable that the gambling white paper would be used save face. This never happened, though.

Liz Truss placed very little focus on the white paper during her short tenure as Prime Minister. Even though questions arose upon where the white paper was at the time, nothing happened. It had already begun to disappear from peoples’ minds, thanks to bigger issues arising. Truss stepped down and Sunak took over, but there has still been little talk of gambling reform. Granted, there is a lot for the government to sort out at the moment. Yet while Sunak pushes forward with forcing students to study maths until age 18, does he have the right focus?

The country is facing a crisis, driven by rising energy prices and mass inflation. True, gambling reform does also take a back seat in comparison to these issues but if Sunak isn’t placing enough focus on those struggling with inflation, what hope do problem gamblers have? Is the white paper actually ever going to be available and come into effect?  If it does will it end up so watered down it has no effect?

Rumblings of dramatic changes to the gambling industry have been rife for the past couple of years. This includes gambling companies not being able to sponsor football teams, for example. That has been on the horizon for a few years now, and nothing has changed. Of course, these sponsorship deals are worth big money for both sides and so the government is likely to be hesitant about enforcing strict new rules on the area.  Indeed, many MPs, mostly conservative, were in the news in 2021 due to their cosy relationship with the industry.

The Latest on Gambling Reform and the White Paper

Uncertainty around the white paper has also been rife for the past year or two and the many postponements of its publication don’t give people much faith in it. Rumours circulated midway through 2022 about a new gambling ombudsman in IBAS. This would be part of the new gambling act coming about after the white paper publication. IBAS is already responsible for handling around 80% of customer complaints in the UK and it would likely stand out as a great company to fit into the role of ombudsman.

Certain changes would need to take place for IBAS to assume the role, though. It would also need a budget of £3.5 million per year to operate as ombudsman. People believe that IBAS would be a good choice for the role but without the white paper in sight, the position of ombudsman is also in limbo.

By October of 2022, news circulated that the white paper was back on track for publication. Even though suggestions arose that it would be available in the coming weeks, this didn’t happen. Concerns over its publication not happening until 2023 came true, as we have still not seen it.

Rumours spread of various regulatory policies being up for the chop under Liz Truss. Many said the gambling reform policy was one of these. Rather than get rid of it altogether though, it ended up shelved for a fifth time. Even Nadine Dorries expressed her anger at the move, targeting Michelle Donelan. She took over the role that Dorries left vacant but refused to comment on it. Instead, this left the former culture secretary to spill a home truth. She insisted that the reforms were already signed off before Truss became PM and she had no idea what the delay on them was.

A publication timeline for the white paper of Christmas was then mentioned. Michael Dugher, the BGC CEO, highlighted that any report of a delay to 2023 was “misleading”. Yet here we are, with no further insight into how gambling will change in the UK.

There was a leaked early draft of the white paper in July of 2022, too. This incorporated a £125 monthly soft cap on affordability. More scrupulous checks against those players losing over £2,000 in three months was also included. New accounts will also face lower thresholds, according to that leak.

Even if those things do feature in the gambling reform as it is now, why the hold up? Various people have spoken of the white paper coming to light very soon. Yet month after month, nobody knows anything different. It still seems to be out of on the periphery of the government.

The latest news surrounding UK gambling came about in December of 2022. This highlighted a select DCMS committee, which would carry out a review of current regulation. Through this, a focus will take place on the progress made by the government. This includes a look at the regulation of the online gambling market. That review needs to take place before the white paper on reform becomes available. Yet it is still “expected” shortly. Speaking on the DCMS review, Julie Elliott MP, said:

“Gambling acts as an enjoyable pastime for large numbers of players, but regulation is struggling to keep pace with the rapidly changing way in which it happens today. This puts people at risk of the devastating harm it can sometimes cause to lives. The DCMS Committee’s inquiry will look at the scale of gambling-related harm in the UK, what the Government should do about it and how a regulatory regime can best adapt to new forms of online gambling, based both in and outside the UK.”

Evidence submitted to the DCMS for this review should occur before February 10th. With this being the case, the white paper may not see its publication until after that date. Otherwise, the review will take place afterwards, which makes little sense.