UK LEGAL
All change Northridge Law’s Melanie Ellis considers the implications of a new incoming Government. T
he announcement of a UK general election on 4 July has prompted questions about what impact this may have on the White Paper’s gambling reforms. The proposals for gambling reform can be broadly grouped into three categories: those measures being completed through voluntary action, those being implemented by the Gambling Commission through changes to its LCCP and those requiring legislation. Of those, clearly it is those requiring legislation that will be most affected by a change of Government and we will take a look at some of those in this article. Just before the election was announced, the Gambling Commission finalised its plans in relation to financial risk checks. At the same time, the Betting and Gaming Council announced a voluntary code to supplement these requirements. These plans are unlikely to be affected by the election or a change in Government and will come into force from 30 August 2024.
The reforms that do require legislative action include the new stake limit for online slots, the statutory levy, increased machines for land-based premises and new powers for the Gambling Commission to tackle unlicensed operators. None of the legislation needed to implement these changes was passed before Parliament was dissolved, so it will be for the new Government to move these forward. Of these reforms, the one closest to implementation was probably the stake limit for online slots. The Government
24 JUNE 2024
announced a decision on 23 February 2024 to limit stakes to £5 per spin, or £2 per spin for customer aged under 25. The Government intended to bring this into effect in September, but this requires secondary legislation to impose a new licence condition on remote casino operators. It seems likely that the new Government will want to push ahead with the stake limit, as it seems like an “easy win” to demonstrate that it is tackling unsafe gambling. However, it is unlikely that the new Government will be in a position to present this secondary
legislation to Parliament until September at the earliest, leaving its implementation delayed by at least a few months. Another reform the new Government is likely to want to move forward with is the statutory levy. It is vital that this is finalised and put into effect in the near future to secure ongoing funding for problem gambling research, education and treatment. Despite a consultation exercise closing in December 2023, the Government had not published a final decision on the structure of the levy, so the new Government will have further work to do
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