UK LEGAL COMMENT alexkich/Adobe Stock
It’s in the stars
W 34 APRIL 2022
Northridge Law’s Melanie Ellis harnesses her psychic powers to predict what the government’s Gambling Act review may hold – and presents her wishlist for same
hite paper predictions I’ve dusted off my crystal ball to predict
the likely changes to gambling regulation arising from the Government’s “imminent” Gambling Act white paper. In case anyone
from Westminster is reading, I’ve also included my wish list for additional issues I’d like to see addressed, but I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed on those! In reviewing gambling legislation, the Government must
strike a balance between appeasing voter concerns about problem gambling and maintaining the right for people who wish to gamble to do so along with the incentive for them to do so in a regulated (and tax generating) environment. Chris Philip MP (the Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy) indicated the direction of the proposed changes in a Commons debate on 21 March, stating that “the gambling review will take significant additional steps…to protect everybody who is gambling”.
Prediction 1 – Enhanced role for the GC in monitoring gambling
The Gambling Commission looks set to play a more active role in monitoring gambling taking place in Great Britain. During the debate on 21 March, Mr Philip made particular reference the role of data in gambling regulation. He stated that “Data should and will enable the Gambling Commission to do a much better job at identifying what the operators are really doing and getting a complete picture of whether they are intervening”.
The strong implication is that a key part of the proposed legislative changes will be a new expectation on the GC to receive and review potentially real-time customer data from operators. I anticipate that this will require the GC to invest in new tools to analyse the large volumes of data that will be received and flag up cases of high customer spend, worrying patterns of play etc. along with data relating to customer interactions that have taken place. Developing and implementing the systems required for such monitoring will be no small task for a regulator which is already overstretched.
Prediction 2 – Additional advertising restrictions
The visible face of gambling to most members of the public (aka voters) is advertising, particularly advertising that they see on TV and through sponsorship of football and other sports. The Government is very likely to want to legislate to restrict this, as such a step will be visible to and indeed welcomed by many. The forms of advertising which are often seen by under 18s are going to be a particular target. In the 21 March debate, Labour MP Paul Bloomfield stated that: “Gambling advertising on shirts, in stadiums, on TV and on social media has merged sports and gambling into a single integrated leisure experience. The industry knows what it is doing, and so do the public, over 60% of whom want a total ban on gambling advertising.” Whilst a total ban seems unlikely, the chances of a ban on advertising on sports kits, particular front of shirt sponsorship of football teams, seem high.
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