Last week (27 April, 2023), the Department for Culture, Media and Sport finally published its long awaited white paper on gambling: High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age. This blog post provides a short summary of the main provisions included in its 268 pages.

In her ministerial foreword, Lucy Frazer sets out the Government’s brief:

“At the heart of our Review is making sure that we have the balance right between consumer freedoms and choice on the one hand, and protection from harm on the other. It has become clear that we must do more to protect those at risk of addiction and associated unaffordable losses. We must also pay particular attention to making sure children are protected, including as they become young adults and for the first time are able to gamble on a wide range of products. Prevention of harm will always be better than a cure, so we are determined to strengthen consumer protections and prevent exploitative practices.”

The review says that around 300,000 people in Great Britain are estimated to be experiencing ‘problem gambling’, defined as gambling to a degree which compromises, disrupts, or damages family, personal or recreational pursuits, and a further 1.8 million are identified as gambling at elevated levels of risk.