The latest UK gambling inquiry could send the industry and the government into the ‘unknown’, claim the iGaming Daily podcast panel.
Wtih the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform is set to launch a new inquiry into the industry’s future, that will assess whether the proposed reforms still meet the evolving demands of public policy and industry accountability.
Chaired by Conservative Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the iGaming Daily’s podcast, in their latest episode, warned that his stance on gambling could lead to reform into regulation, affecting the industry’s future in the UK.
Reform advocates have been calling for stricter controls on TV ads, sports sponsorships, and social media promotions, especially to protect younger audiences – and SBC’s Ted Menmuir claimed that the inquiry isn’t surprising from Smith.
“I’m not surprised; this inquiry led by Ian Duncan Smith could be the messiest one for the UK.” Menmuir began. “Gambling and UK politics and anyone who’s really involved and those stakeholders involved with the gambling review and also what evidence was presented. It also has a potential to really kind of spiral out.
“Ultimately, the spotlight falls to the Labour government and whether they’re to reopen certain reforms or certain aspects of the review, whether they’re going to take that back to the table and what can be done at this late stage.
“I think the consensus was that they would go forward with it. It appears to be changing every week as to whether the Gambling Act white paper will be re-examined. I think we really are kind of entering the unknown.”
Exploring the idea that advertisements will almost be looked at, and potentially regulated further, Menmuir noted: “He has been consistent in his arguments and that the reforms should be seen.
“One area is the exposure and engagement of gambling to the general public, not just in terms of advertisements or sponsorships but the message it sends across, how it permeates with the youth and younger audience.
“He had a voice on the football sponsorships and that you needed consent to target consumers with gambling products – so advertisements will be one of them.”
Another key area is the potential of gambling being officially registered as a public health issue. Ted Orme-Claye believes it is something that could arise further down the line but concluded that the government has too much on its plate right now to pursue what would be a grand reform change.
“I’m sceptical of framing gambling as a public health issue, we saw the calls for evidence from academics and different public health professionals earlier this year when it was an overarching agenda.
“Maybe it is something they can achieve down the line but the government has been very adamant it is committed to seeing out the recommendations of the review and moving forward with consultations. With everything the government has on its plate, I don’t think it will be enough to reframe the political agenda around gambling.”
Another area that could be key is taxation. However, the potential contribution from gambling taxes to the public purse is likely to be a ‘drop in the ocean’, according to host Martyn Elliott, but retained that the tax-raising measures in the forthcoming budget from Rachel Reeves could be interesting.
Orme-Claye added that it could be an ‘easy’ win for the government to raise gambling taxes, in light of push from reform advocates. “On the taxation front, they might be reviewing this as a double win, they can use the industry to raise the money to fund the different initiatives they want to roll out.
“Banning advertisements is an easy win for governments but putting taxation up on the industry is also a decent win because they can go to reform advocates and say ‘Look, we are keeping them in line, we’ve put taxes up and we’re getting more money out of them to invest in health, education, sports and so on’, they might see that as a win-win.”
