Let’s face it, gambling reform is hardly going to be the new PM’s top priority so the long-awaited White Paper may not see the light of day for some time yet. There is also a widely publicised rumour that Iain Duncan-Smith will have a place at the Cabinet table. That would hardly bode well for the industry, given his very outspoken anti-gambling pronouncements as a combative Vice-Chair of the Gambling-Related Harm APPG.

NOTE: David provided his comments to EGR before:

1. The London ‘Evening Standard’ reported that Iain Duncan Smith had turned down an invitation to join the Cabinet

and

2. Michelle Donelan was appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, replacing Nadine Dorries, who resigned from that post yesterday.

In our view, this appointment raises the likelihood that, as the new Culture Secretary, Donelan may wish to look completely afresh at the draft White Paper presented to Boris Johnson by the then Gambling Minister, Chris Philip, very shortly before their respective resignations in July.

It is open to question to whom Donelan’s appointment might represent good news, given that on 17 May 2018, when the then Gambling Minister Tracey Crouch announced in the House of Commons that the maximum FOBT stake would be reduced from £100 to £2, Donelan said:

I strongly welcome this announcement, which addresses an issue that has destroyed far too many lives. I appreciate that advertising is regulated, but we have all noticed the dramatic increase in gambling advertising online and on TV, preying on the vulnerable. What more can we do to address that?

UPDATE: The Betting and Gaming Council has congratulated Michelle Donelan on her appointment as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with the following words:

BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said her re-appointment to the Cabinet was “well-deserved” and encouraged the new DCMS secretary to continue engagement with the industry to find the right balance in the forthcoming Gambling Review.

The Betting and Gaming Council was established in 2019 and represents over 90% of retail betting shops, online betting and gaming operators, casinos and bingo operators. As the single industry body, we work with our members, large and small, to raise standards, create a culture of safer gambling and build public and institutional trust in our world class industry.

Michael Dugher said:

“On behalf of the 119,000 people whose jobs are supported by our members – from the high street to hospitality, from tourism to tech – I’d like to congratulate Michelle Donelan on her new role as Secretary of State for DCMS. Our industry generates £4.5bn in taxes for the Treasury and contributes £7.7bn for the economy in gross value added.

We have been working extremely closely with the DCMS over many years to help the Government find the right balance in the Gambling Review, so that we continue to drive big changes and higher standards on safer gambling to better protect the most vulnerable, whilst at the same time ensuring that the millions of people who enjoy an occasional flutter perfectly safely and responsibly have the freedom to do so.”