The long-awaited gambling white paper, setting out government proposals to make regulation of the sector “fit for the digital age”, finally looks set to be published next Thursday.
It is expected to include ministers’ plans for affordability checks on punters, as well as a review of British racing’s levy system.
The government launched its gambling review in December 2020 but publication of the subsequent white paper has been the subject of repeated delays due to a succession of ministerial changes.
On Monday, in answer to a written question from Labour MP Jessica Morden asking why the publication of the white paper was delayed, gambling minister Stuart Andrew replied: “We received more than 16,000 responses during the call for evidence and are considering all the evidence carefully.
“We will publish a white paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.”
Ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, including Andrew and culture secretary Lucy Frazer, are due to answer questions in the House of Commons next Thursday.
It is understood Downing Street has scheduled the release of the white paper for that day. If it is not published by then there will be a further delay as parliament goes into recess at the end of next week.
The potential proposals
British racing will have greatest interest in what the white paper contains on the controversial subject of affordability checks, which its leadership believes are already costing the sport tens of millions of pounds in revenue due to requests for personal financial information from customers such as bank statements.
Recent press reports suggest the proposals will be less intrusive and put forward something more akin to credit checks. The levy system is already due to be reviewed by 2024, but reports have claimed that review will be brought forward.
Campaigners for reform of the sector have called for a ban on gambling advertising and sponsorship, but stringent measures are not expected to be included in the white paper following the Premier League’s announcement last week of a voluntary ban on gambling sponsorship from the front of matchday shirts.
The Premier League also said it was working with other sports on the development of a new gambling sponsorship code, which could figure among the proposals.
However, campaigners are expected to have their demand for the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators to pay for research, education and treatment of problem gambling met in the white paper.
Other measures set to feature include a reduction in stakes for online slot games to match those found in land-based gambling and the creation of a gambling ombudsman to deal with customer complaints.
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