Britain can lead way with responsible gambling but all needs must be met, warns industry heavyweight

The chair of betting giant Entain has insisted punter regulation must recognise other interests in addition to player safety as he shared a public platform with the Gambling Commission at the opening day of the Ice London exhibition on Monday.

His comments came as a host of senior betting executives gathered for the annual convention, staged this year against the backdrop of affordability checks which threaten to hit British racing's finances by millions of pounds.

Barry Gibson, chairman of Entain, the global giant that owns Ladbrokes and Coral, was speaking as the three-day Ice London exhibition started at the ExCel arena.

"At Entain, we are strong advocates of firm but fair regulation that is rigorous, transparent and evidence-based," he said. "A good regulator is one that has player safety at its core but that also takes into account the interests of the broader industry – operators, employees, sporting bodies – working in proper consultation to create an environment that balances an open recreational market with the need to provide the highest levels of player protection. That is the gold standard we should be aspiring to. In my view, Nevada currently gets the closest.

"The UK already boasts a number of world-class betting and gaming businesses, developing and exporting home-grown expertise and tech prowess on the international stage. With gold standard regulation, Britain has the opportunity to be the global leader in responsible gambling."

Gibson's views were not thought to be a swipe at the Gambling Commission, which is seen by some as being responsible for applying pressure to bookmakers to carry out the controversial affordability checks before the government publishes its gambling review white paper.

The intrusive action, which involves people sharing personal financial information with operators, has led punters to bet on the black market and Tim Miller, executive director of the industry regulator, nodded to that topic when he also spoke at Ice.

He did not openly reference affordability checks, which have been condemned by leading trainers Nicky Henderson and John Gosden, but did warn about the dangers of unregulated platforms.

"Another issue that we hear a lot about at the moment is illegal online gambling," he said. "This is, of course, a concern for all regulators and the Gambling Commission is no different. We are particularly focused upon those so-called not-on-Gamstop sites and we have directed more resource to it over the last year. This is especially insidious as these sites and their affiliates target people who have sought to self-exclude from gambling. Even well-known publications like Reader's Digest have been promoting such sites in their paid content and have ignored requests from us to remove it.

Miller claimed the commission's efforts "will seek to disrupt these illegal sites as much as possible" and put pressure upon those jurisdictions that host and even license many of these illegal sites. 

He added: "But we will never accept the argument that because an illegal online option exists, this should mean that the regulated gambling sector should have lower, less fair or less safe standards. Britain is, and must continue to be, a world leader in providing consumers with a fair and safe gambling market."

Read these next:

 Ed Chamberlin: racing cannot afford to lose punters caught up in affordability checks 

Highclere boss: British racing could be 'ripped to pieces' by intrusive affordability checks  

Festival subscription offer | 50% off three months  

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.