PM Boris Johnson Wants to Direct UK Gambling Reform

While all other jurisdictions have been reporting little to no lift in online gambling spend and have been praising the success of their helplines and self-exclusion programs the UK gambling industry is facing the possibility of government intervention.

 Is this Governmental Overreach?

A review and revision of the current 2005 Gambling Act have been on the cards for a while now, with the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) set to spearhead the charge.

In a surprising turn of events, The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to implement the changes he personally feels are necessary, even if that means circumventing the DCMS.

An anonymous source was cited as stating that Dominic Cummings and Munira Mirza, both intimately linked to Johnson, will be assuming key roles in the upcoming gambling reforms.

DCMS Circles the Wagons

It would appear that in addition to his own personal biases toward the gambling industry Johnson is concerned about the undue influence gambling operators to wield with the sports teams and broadcasters they fund.

The concern is that these teams and broadcasters would apply pressure on the DCMS to allow gambling advertising to proceed with little interference.

An MP said of the DCMS and the issue of advertising pressure:

“Like any organisation, departments become quite linked in to these industries [such as sport and broadcasting] … They weren’t that keen on changing tobacco advertising back in the day, but it happened.”

A spokesperson for DCMS has spoken out against these allegations, claiming that the Department will be working with No. 10 rather being circumvented by them.

 Peers for Gambling Reform Enters the Fight

As if there aren’t enough parties involved in looking at the iGaming market a new lobbying group has risen from the midst of the House of Lords, the Peers for Gambling Reform (PGR).

This group consists of more than 150 members who are placing additional pressure on the government to apply the harshest possible restrictions on the gambling sector.

PGR chairman, Lord Foster of Bath, said:

“Online gambling companies have cashed in on the pandemic, making more profit and putting more lives at risk. The group had been set up to ensure urgent action is taken by the government to reform our wholly outdated regulation.”

These urgent actions will include further restrictions on above-the-line advertising, reduced gameplay speeds and intensive affordability checks. They have also proposed a stringent gambling harms test which would be applied to all new gambling products prior to it receiving regional approval.