Wait goes on for white paper action as age-old debate over gambling ratchets up once again

It is nearly four weeks since the British government finally published its gambling white paper but not a great deal has happened to implement any of the proposals it contains, in public at least.

The Gambling Commission's deputy chief executive Sarah Gardner told a conference last week that its first set of consultations would be published this summer and, while not able to give any further information, she did promise there would be more news published soon.

In the meantime the debate around gambling regulation carries on regardless. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which decided to hold its own investigation into gambling regulation last December while the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was in the throes of trying to complete the white paper, began hearing oral evidence last week.

There were more than a few raised eyebrows that the committee decided to launch its inquiry when it did, given the government was in the midst of its own much more far-reaching review. However, the committee's newly elected chair Dame Caroline Dinenage stood for the role on the basis that it would "hold the government to account, and prevent further delays to this vitally important piece of work".

The first session heard evidence from executives from three of the charities working in the problem gambling sphere – GambleAware, Gamcare and Gordon Moody – and the early impression given by the line of questioning from the majority of the committee's members was that this was a genuine attempt to have a measured discussion of the issues.

The majority of the members, but not all. The view the Scottish National Party's culture spokesperson John Nicolson holds of the gambling industry became quite clear as he made comparisons to drug pushers and heroin dealers. It will be interesting to see if the hyperbole is ratcheted up any further in subsequent sessions.

There are plenty of members of parliament who, like Nicholson, could never be described as fans of the gambling industry and the much-vaunted gambling lobby in Westminster is unlikely to match them in number. Further evidence of that emerged again last week when it was announced that the Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group was to close.

The group had come close to ceasing operations a couple of years ago until Scott Benton MP took over as chairman. However, Benton's appearance on the front page of The Times last month following a sting in which he was filmed offering to lobby ministers on behalf of fake gambling industry investors who had offered him a fee of up to £4,000 looks like it was the death knell for the group. With Peers For Gambling Reform and the Gambling Related Harm All Party Group still going strong the industry finds itself facing plenty of parliamentary opposition.

Scott Benton: MP appeared on front page of national newspaper after offering to lobby ministers

Returning to the white paper, the government has said it intends the main measures contained within the document should be in force by next summer. That does somewhat jar with comments from Gambling Commission executives such as Gardner in the aftermath of the white paper's publication which have spoken of the scale of the task facing the industry regulator.

Gardner said there were more than 60 areas of work to be done by the commission alone and that implementation of the white paper "will likely take a number of years to fully complete".

While she claimed rapid progress could be made in a number of areas, she emphasised the need to get the consultations right. "Less haste and more speed will be our approach," Gardner said.

One of the areas where the Gambling Commission will be consulting will be the financial risk checks proposed in the white paper, which came instead of the more stringent affordability checks being called for by campaigners. Might they be one of the areas where the Gambling Commission decides on taking a less haste, more speed approach?

The first tier of frictionless financial checks suggested by the white paper is already being carried out by major operators and so it should be relatively simple for the commission to change the licence conditions and codes of practice to extend that across the industry. However, a frictionless solution to enhanced checks does not yet exist and the consultation on this subject is likely to be anything but simple.

It could be a while before a frictionless solution is found, if one can be found at all. The government has mentioned using open banking to check on customers' financial status, but that still requires consent. In the meantime, the current, highly unsatisfactory regime under which punters are being asked to provide financial information to bookmakers will continue.

In addition, and this may just be the view of a jaded cynic, might the commission concentrate its initial work on those areas where its view of regulation tallies with that of the government?

There may be areas where the white paper's proposals do not correspond with the views of the regulator and if that work does not get done by summer next year it might not be a major problem for the commission. There is expected to be a general election next year, and as a result there might be a new government with different views on gambling regulation.

Despite its denials, the commission has previously shown an enthusiasm for directing operators to ask punters for personal financial information such as payslips and bank statements.

Both the gambling and racing industries will be hoping the commission's consultation process is completed before ministers who might hold the same views come into power.

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