The gambling minister has said that once-in-a-generation gambling reform will be implemented by summer next year in response to concerns that it will be dropped after the next general election or face legal challenges.

The Gambling Commission, the industry regulator, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will consult on a dozen headline measures in the white paper published on Thursday, alongside more than 40 other proposals.

The document extends to 92,000 words, roughly equivalent to a 368-page novel. The scale of the task has raised fears that the reforms, promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto, will not be implemented before the next election, due in the autumn of next year.

The culture department has not allocated any additional cash to the commission and