A long-awaited gambling white paper from the UK government is set to be published during the Easter break, recommending several measures to crack down on gambling operations owned by the likes of Entain PLC (LSE:ENT), Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR) and 888 Holdings PLC (LSE:888).

Commissioned in April 2020, the white paper is intended to be a review of the Gambling Act 2005 but has been pushed back consistently, much to the despair of campaigners such as Gambling with Lives.

Measures being touted in the media include a limit on online slot machines of between £2 and £5, moving it in line with limits on physical machines seen in pubs and high street gambling shops.

A statutory levy on operators to fund addiction research is said to be suggested. At 1%, the levy would replace the current voluntary contributions made by firms.

The paper is also said to include affordability checks for customers losing between £500 and £100 a month, at which point they would be required to provide bank statements.

This, however, has been met with resistance by operators and less extreme members of parliament, with fears serious gamblers could seek black market options while casual gamblers would simply no longer bother, a blow to the industry either way.

Another area which has fallen under the government’s remit is betting sponsorships in football.

An agreement is thought to be in the pipeline to ban gambling sponsors on shirts of Premier League clubs, although questions remain on whether adverts can stay in place on the LED advertising hoardings.

Iain Duncan Smith, vice chair of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling-related harm, said last month that the white paper is “desperately” needed.

The white paper will be separate from the new Gambling Commission rules that came into force last year to direct the regulator, which has recently dished out fines to William Hill, 32Red and Platinum Gaming.

The main difference is that the white paper is intended to be a complete review and overhaul of the Gambling Act 2005, while the Gambling Commission’s rules are a specific set of measures put in place to “protect consumers at risk of harm.”

The measures outlined require operators to monitor a specific range of indicators to identify gambling harms, flag indicators of harm and act in a timely manner and prevent marketing and take-up of new bonuses for at-risk customers.

Additionally, the rules enforce operators to ensure they interact with consumers and evidence their interactions.