Ash Mcpherson's blog : UK Launches Biggest Gambling Industry Reform Since 2005

UK ministers announced on 27th that they will significantly regulate online platforms in order to reduce gambling addiction.

The Gambling White Paper set out a number of measures, including introducing a statutory levy on betting companies to fund public health measures, imposing a £2 to £4 wagering limit on online casino games for younger players, and strict financial affordability checks on problem gamblers.For a deeper dive into these intriguing developments, a mouse click the up coming internet site could whisk you away to a realm of detailed discussions and expert analyses. This is more than just policy; it's about fostering a safer, more responsible gaming environment for everyone involved.

The proposals, which have been eagerly awaited by campaigners for safer gambling since a review of the law began in December 2020, will be consulted on. However, Gambling Minister Stuart Andrew said the reforms would be "implemented" by summer 2024.

The reforms would reduce total gaming revenues across all sectors, which amounted to nearly £10 billion in the year to March 2022, by 3-8%, according to official estimates. Online gambling revenues would be cut by 8-14%.

Culture Secretary Lucy Fraser told lawmakers that updating the 2005 Gambling Act, which was enacted before the boom in online gambling, would bring "pre-smartphone regulations into the modern age."

"We need a new approach that recognizes that flirting is one thing. Addiction without a halt is another," she said. The consultations will be led by the regulators, the Gambling Commission and the Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport.

Some regulations have not gone as far as campaigners had expected. On Thursday, ministers announced that they would discuss limits on stakes for gamblers aged 18 to 25, who are most likely to become addicted to gambling. Such a limit could limit wagers to £2 or £4, or depending on the individual's risk.

Older gamblers could face a wagering limit of up to £15, above the limits that some operators impose on themselves; Flutter, the gambling group that owns Paddy Power and SkyBet, has already imposed a flat £10 limit. An earlier version of the white paper last summer, when the Boris Johnson administration was about to take office, proposed a cap of between £2 and £5.

The white paper also announced a financial affordability check estimated to potentially affect up to 20% of customers. Accounts posting net losses of £125 per month or £500 per year would face a light touch check that would use open source data such as county court judgments and previously declared bankruptcies.

High-spending accounts recording net losses of £1,000 a day or £2,000 within 90 days will be subject to enhanced checks by credit reference agencies. The checks are expected to affect about 3 percent of client accounts, with a lower threshold for younger gamblers. Labour MP Caroline Harris, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling-Related Harm, called for the proposal to be implemented immediately, without further consultation. 'Let's not line the pockets of an industry that has had its way for far too long,' she said.

The UK's four largest online operators, including Flutter and Bet365, already voluntarily contribute 1% of their revenues to the fight against gambling addiction. But a statutory levy, which could raise more than £100 million a year, would not only make the contribution mandatory, it would change who decides how the money is distributed and allow the abebets.com to profit from it.

Minister Andrew Gamble did not specify the specific level of the levy. A consultation in the summer will determine how it will apply to smaller land-based operators, who will also be able to increase the number of slot machines in their casinos from 20 to 80.

According to the Gambling Commission, about 0.3% of UK adults were problem gamblers at the end of 2021, compared to 2.8%, or about 1.4 million, according to polling firm YouGov.

The government also said it would create an industry ombudsman to resolve disputes when companies fail to provide consumer protection.

The Premier League announced this month that it would phase out front-of-shirt sponsorship, a decision that former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith criticized as not going far enough.

The gambling industry has grown rapidly in recent years and has been funded by lobbying efforts. According to a register of MPs' financial interests, dozens of Tory and Labour MPs received around £200,000 in entertainment and gifts from betting companies between 2021 and 2022.

Conservative backbencher Scott Benton was suspended by his party this month after it was secretly recorded that he gave an advance copy of the white paper to a reporter for The Times, posing as a representative of the gambling industry, and offered to ask questions on their behalf in parliament.

Liz Ritchie, co-founder of the charity Gambling with Lives, said the reforms show that campaigners have "won the battle against the powerful gambling lobby," but that there is still more to come.

 She said, "After a long battle, we have won concessions in some key areas, but more needs to happen to reduce the terrible harm caused by one of the world's most poorly regulated gambling industries."

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