Government and Gambling Commission officials come under fire from reform campaigners at summit

The UK’s gambling minister and the executive director of the Gambling Commission were met with pushback following their speeches at the Peers for Gambling Reform Summit. 

Baroness Twycross, from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, spoke of a need to strike “the right balance” between supporting the growth of the industry and combatting gambling harms, and those pushing for reform.

She acknowledged the government’s “big responsibility” in her speech at the Peers for Gambling Reform Summit to safeguard players while preserving their freedom to choose to gamble and supporting a sector that makes “an important economic societal contribution.”

Audience backlash

This drew criticism from attendees and other speakers. The audience was made up of reform charities and campaigners as well gambling harm researchers and those with lived experience. 

Labour MP Dawn Butler, who launched a campaign this summer against the spread of betting shops, told The Christian Institute: “I think at the moment, we have a public health emergency with regards to gambling, and if we don’t get to grips with it now, then we are building up even more problems for the future.”

In a separate panel, Professor Heather Wardle from Glasgow University said point blank that the only way to reduce gambling harms was to reduce gambling consumption. She said: “That means a smaller gambling industry, a smaller gambling sector. And I think it’s really important to be honest about that.” 

Higher taxes could be on the way

Online casinos, in the eyes of those supporting industry reform, are causing the most damage, with area experts saying it needs to be cut down to size amid a rise in offshore, unregulated sites popping up and enticing users with looser restrictions, better range of games and bonuses.

According to sources close to leading iGaming news outlet NEXT.io, Wardle may soon get her wish. The upcoming Autumn Budget will, it is believed, include a tax hike for remote gaming products deemed to be ‘higher-harm’ – from the current level of 21% up to 35%. 

Gambling Commission takes heat

Meanwhile, the Gambling Commission reported figures from the beginning of the Financial Year in April through to early August, in which they revealed action taken against over 45,000 URLs – leading to the removal of just over 30,000 of them, as well as the shutdown (or geo-blocking) of hundreds of websites.

It wasn’t enough to save executive director Tim Miller from hostile questioning following his own keynote speech at the event. He rejected the idea that the body isn’t being tough enough on operators acting unethically or illegally.

He was, however, resistant to the idea of further reforms and the possibility they might come at the expense of what’s already in place, noting that “it is delivery, not further policy papers, that will actually protect consumers.”