Frustration over potential for further delays to gambling review white paper

The Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF) has voiced its frustration over the potential for further delays in the publication of the government's gambling review white paper following prime minister Rishi Sunak's reshuffle this week.

Those views were echoed by Conservative MP Philip Davies, who said he hoped the government's proposals for gambling reform, which had been expected in the next few weeks, would be published before parliament goes into recess on March 30.

Culture secretary Michelle Donelan and Paul Scully, who held the gambling brief at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), have both moved to the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which means further delays to the white paper are likely.

Scully's departure will be keenly felt by both the racing and betting industries as he had shown a willingness to listen to both sides of the debate on gambling reform.

He had also recently sent a shot across the bows of the Gambling Commission over the issue of intrusive affordability checks on punters when saying it was not the place of the government or the commission to decide how much people could afford to gamble.

The government's proposals for affordability checks are expected to feature in the long-delayed white paper, but checks that have already been introduced by operators are estimated to have wiped as much as £40 million from racing's annual revenues.

Only last week Scully met with members of the HBF to discuss their concerns.

Michelle Donelan: has been moved to the newly established Department for Science, Innovation and TechnologyCredit: Getty Images

Speaking on behalf of the HBF, Benjamin Fellows said of this week's news: "It is frustrating that publication of the white paper appears to have been put on the back burner again.

"There remains a huge amount of uncertainty for operators as to what obligations they are under to comply with their licence obligations and we are seeing that emanate daily in the divergent and intrusive requests that are being made to horseracing bettors, for huge amounts of documentation, simply to seemingly enable them to accept a bet.

"The continued delay is damaging the industry as a whole and we would urge the incoming minister to ensure that publication of the white paper is at the top of their agenda. Following positive discussions with the outgoing minister Paul Scully only last week, we are hopeful that the new minister will continue the dialogue with horseracing bettors."

While Lucy Frazer has been announced as culture secretary, there has been no news yet as to who will succeed Scully to become the sixth gambling minister since the gambling review was launched in December 2020.

Following the reshuffle the government did say that completing the gambling review "to make the UK the safest place in the world to gamble" was one of the DCMS's main priorities.

Philip Davies: "It is hugely frustrating that both Michelle Donelan and Paul Scully have moved roles o close to the publication of the gambling white paper"Credit: National Pictures / Nick Edwards

Davies said: "It is hugely frustrating that both Michelle Donelan and Paul Scully have moved roles so close to the publication of the gambling white paper and we very much hope that this doesn’t mean we go back to square one again as it is vital this review is completed asap.

"It is particularly disappointing as both Michelle and Paul had developed a very good grasp of the issues and spent a huge amount of time and effort engaging with all shades of opinion on this matter, and were doing a great job.

"I very much hope we will see the work they did not go to waste and would very much hope that this review can still be published before the Easter recess."

Meanwhile, Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes has claimed there has been a "significant amount of misinformation" about the regulator's position on affordability checks.

In a speech at the World Regulatory Briefing at the Ice gambling industry show in London he claimed the commission had not imposed affordability checks or set limits on what bettors should be allowed to spend.

He added: "What we have done is make it clear we do expect operators to consider a range of factors when assessing the risk for a consumer, including the financial situation for a consumer.

"It is for operators to set limits themselves based on their customer types, business and risks."

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