Further delays to crucial gambling law review likely after Prime Minister's resignation

CARE has expressed frustration as events in Number 10 make it highly likely a whitepaper on gambling law reform will now face further delays.

This week, the govt was set to give its final approval to a review of Britain's gambling laws, which are seen as outdated and insufficient to protect vulnerable punters.

The review was launched by the government at the end of 2020 and its publication has been delayed several times since then, despite huge public pressure.

Yesterday, Chris Philp, the Minister responsible for gambling, was one of the dozens of Ministers who resigned from Boris Johnson's Cabinet.

In a letter to the Prime Minister announcing his resignation, Mr Philp mentioned the review stating:

"The gambling review is with No 10 at the moment for final approval, containing strong measures to protect people from the ravages of gambling addiction.

"I have met with the families of those who have committed suicide as a result of gambling addiction, and I strongly urge you to deliver the review in full and undiluted."

The latest statement by a government official suggested the review will still be published “in the coming weeks”.

However, the government has used this line repeatedly over the last two years, meaning the timetable remains unclear.

Ross Hendry, CEO of CARE, commented:

"The prospect of further delay to much-needed gambling law reform is frustrating and upsetting to those who have campaigned hard for action by the government, including the loved ones of those who tragically took their own lives due to addiction.

"With an estimated 400 gambling-related suicides every year, 400,000 adults addicted to gambling and many more at risk of becoming addicted, the need to reign in the betting industry and improve safeguards for punters is glaringly obvious. Action is years overdue.

"The government still has a chance to approve the gambling whitepaper and must do so now. It is crucially important that parliament can see the government's proposals, scrutinise them closely, and agree a way forward.

Reform needed

Proposed curbs on betting expected to be in the government's whitepaper include a maximum stake of between £2 and £5 for online casinos, and a ban on free bets.

CARE has also pushed strongly for a statutory levy on the gambling industry to fund addiction treatment and research, although it's uncertain whether this will be adopted.

On Wednesday, the chairwoman and vice-chairmen of the all-party parliamentary group for gambling-related harm, stressed the need for this reform.

In a letterto The Times newspaper, Carolyn Harris MP, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, and Ronnie Cowan MP stated:

"In 2019 this government stood on a manifesto pledge to reform our gambling laws. More than 400 people take their own lives because of gambling addiction every year, and many thousands more are harmed by this industry every day. More than 16,000 people responded to the government’s call for evidence, and government departments, academics, clinicians and parliamentarians have set out a coherent, evidence-based set of reforms.

"A business model that targets those who can least afford to lose is immoral. Failing to stop the worst abuses of the online gambling industry, allowing free bets and VIP offers that lure people into unaffordable spending to continue, failing to implement a statutory levy to pay for harm and failing to limit the advertising that our children are continually exposed to is not just a missed opportunity and a rejection of a manifesto pledge, it will mean that more lives are lost."

Tracey Crouch MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport, Civil Society and Loneliness between 2017 and 2018, also raised concerns in a letter to The Times.

Ms Crouch, who is also a qualified FA football coach, wrote:

"As the minister responsible for gambling policy I will never forget meeting those who had succumbed to a gambling addiction, as well as the families of those whose loved ones had taken their own lives because the peril they faced from gambling was too much for them to bear.

"Reforms to protect people from the harmful impact of gambling were in our 2019 manifesto so there is nothing 'un-Conservative' about them, contrary to what some in the party are saying. The most unforgivable thing will be to have made promises of ambitious reform, only for the government to renege at the last minute.

"Those who place a bet know the underlying truth is that the bookmaker always wins. It seems this could be the case with gambling policy too."

ENDS

About CARE

Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) provides analysis of social policy from a Christian perspective. For more information or to request an interview, contact Jamie Gillies | jamie.gillies@care.org.uk

Notes for Editors

Case studies of gambling harm

'Gambling as addictive as heroin' | CARE
Parents vie for gambling law reforms after son's tragic death | CARE
Paul Merson: ‘I wouldn’t wish gambling addiction on anyone’ | CARE

Useful facts/statistics

• There are an estimated 400,000 'problem gamblers' in the UK
• On average, one problem gambler commits suicide every single day.
• Two thirds of adults believe companies aren't taking addiction seriously.
• 30 MPs received gifts from gambling agencies ahead of the review

A review of evidence on gambling-related harms by the UK Govt (Sept 21) found:

• The annual economic burden of harmful gambling is approximately £1.27 billion.
• The overall estimated excess cost of health harms is £961.3 million.
• Financial harms focused on homelessness is estimated to be £62.8 million
• The estimated excess cost of suicide is £619.2 million
• The estimated excess cost of depression is £335.5 million
• The estimated excess cost of alcohol dependence is £4.7 million
• The estimated excess cost of illicit drug use is £2.0 million
• The excess cost of employment-related harms is estimated to be £79.5 million