Industry reaction to Labour winning the general election

With the keys to 10 Downing Street firmly in his hands, Sir Keir Starmer, now the 58th prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has a battle on his hands. From the cost-of-living crisis, immigration, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, housing, the NHS and the flocking of voters to fringe parties in the shape of the Greens and Reform UK, there is plenty on his plate.

As he begins his first week as prime minister, Starmer will be looking to enact on Labour’s 136-page manifesto. His cabinet is being built out, and his mandate, thanks to 412 seats and a collapse from the Conservatives, put him in a position that was unimaginable in 2019 as Labour slumped under Jeremy Corbyn.

Within that manifesto, tucked away in a section dedicated to the NHS, was Labour’s plans on gambling. A promise to “reform” the sector and reduce gambling-related harm were include in the 37 words on the industry. How this will materialise, with last year’s white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review published and plans afoot for change as a result in the offing, only time will tell.

The new prime minister’s former shadow secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport Thangam Debbonaire won’t be making the transition to government after losing in Bristol Central to the Green Party, with former Labour leadership candidate Lisa Nandy being drafted in to take the brief on.

Shadow minister for Sport, Gambling and Media Stephanie Peacock held on in Barnsley South, but has yet to been confirmed as part of Starmer’s new government. For the sake of the sector, it is hoped Starmer will move quickly to allow the minister to lay out their stall regarding their approach to reform.

So, with five years of a Labour Party government on the horizon, EGR spoke to industry stakeholders about their thoughts on what Starmer and his new cabinet will deliver for the gambling industry.

Melanie Ellis, partner at Northridge Law

“Sir Keir Starmer’s new government will have a full in tray of gambling reform awaiting final decisions and legislative action, but is unlikely to have an opportunity to progress these items straight away.

“The first key date will be the King’s speech on 17 July, when we can expect to find out which, if any, gambling reform legislation is being prioritised. From Labour’s manifesto, all we really know so far is that it intends to reform gambling regulation and strengthen protections, although this would be achieved by simply continuing with the reforms proposed in last year’s white paper.

“Following the King’s speech there may be a bit of a scramble to deal with pressing issues such as compensation for those affected by the infected blood scandal, dealing with strikes by junior doctors and halting deportation flights to Rwanda ahead of the summer recess.

“Before the election was called, parliament’s summer recess was scheduled to start on 23 July. This is likely to be pushed back into early August to allow time to deal with priority matters, but even with extra time I would be surprised if gambling reform makes the cut.

“I therefore expect to see items such as the stake limits for online slots, statutory levy, changes for land-based premises and new powers for the Gambling Commission to tackle the black market (which were contained in the Criminal Justice Bill) being reintroduced towards the end of the year.

“I do think the new government is much more likely to prioritise those reforms that visibly demonstrate they are tackling gambling harm, with the result that increased gaming machines for land-based premises in particular is at risk of being put on the back burner.”

Kirsty Caldwell, Betsmart Consulting founder and director

“I don’t think many of us were surprised by the events of Thursday 4 July, but with such a high-level, brief reference to the gambling sector in their manifesto, it is difficult to know for certain what Labour plan to do with the Gambling Act review white paper and all the changes which have been (partially) triggered by it.

“There have been no significant objections to the proposals up until this point, with the paper apparently enjoying cross-party support since publication. However, it isn’t yet clear how quickly it might be taken forward, what level of priority the supporting statutory changes will have or, who will be responsible for delivering them.

“Presumably, the new government will be looking to eke additional taxation from anywhere it can to help support, embed and pay for the societal changes it has promised within the wider manifesto and so, with so many of the pending land-based sector changes set to bolster its performance, I hope that these at least will be pushed through sooner rather than later.”

Elizabeth Dunn, partner at Bird & Bird

“The industry has been in varying states of uncertainty since the previous government announced its intention to carry out a full review of the Gambling Act, back in 2020. The eventual publication of the white paper last year at least brought a better idea of the direction of travel.

“However, with a new government comes fresh uncertainty. Although timelines had been set for several of the white paper proposals requiring legislative action (such as stake limits for online slots), no concrete legislative reform had actually taken place before the election was announced. This means that we must once again wait to see what approach the new government takes to gambling reform.

“The Labour Party manifesto stated, in the ‘public health’ section, that Labour is committed to “reducing gambling-related harm”, that the party will “reform gambling regulation” by “strengthening protections” and working with those in the industry to “ensure responsible gambling”. It is clear from these commitments that we are not about to see the reform agenda disappear, but there has been no indication of any concrete plans. However, if Labour considers gambling reform a ‘public health’ issue, it is very likely that we will see greater restrictions on the industry.

“In the short- to medium-term, the Gambling Commission will continue to implement the white paper proposals within its remit, including the ‘light touch’ financial vulnerability checks and the financial risk check pilot.”

Chris Elliott, partner at Wiggin

“The election manifestos were fairly light on gambling reform commitments, which is understandable given the scale of wider challenges faced by the new government. Labour’s only reference to gambling was on page 103 of its 136-page manifesto, which states that the party is ‘…committed to reducing gambling-related harm…” and that the party ‘… will reform gambling regulations, strengthening protections’.  While this aligns with the ambitions set out in the former government’s white paper, we are left guessing as to what this will actually mean in practice.

“The white paper, which was much delayed, was clear in its objective of striking a balance between consumer freedoms and the harm prevention and set out a well-considered vision of where this balance should be struck in law and regulation. It was arguably as balanced as the industry could have reasonably expected, and included important liberalisations for the land-based industry.

“The industry, too, had success in engaging with the government and the Gambling Commission to ensure headline reform proposals, notably the introduction of enhanced financial risk checks, were not introduced in haste and without full consideration of the unintended consequences, despite considerable pressure for them to be so.

“Labour has signalled a desire to work with the industry, among others, in order to achieve its ambitions, so one can hope the new government will show itself as having a preparedness to engage in discussion and evidence-based thinking on proposals it will wish to see implemented.

“Gambling reform is unlikely to high on the government’s agenda, but there are certain ongoing initiatives that are close to being implemented and risk being delayed unnecessarily if they are not picked up quickly. An example is the introduction of the £5 stake limit on online slots (£2 for under 25s), which was expected to be introduced in September 2024 but awaits a statutory instrument to be passed by parliament for its formal introduction. That would need to be passed pretty quickly if it is to be introduced in September 2024 (if at all) and if there is still to be a six-week period given to operators/suppliers to implement, and a further six weeks to implement the £2 age-based limit.”

Richard Williams, gambling partner at Keystone Law

“The 136-page Labour Party manifesto contained one paragraph referring to gambling, with a commitment to ‘reform gambling regulation, strengthening protections. We will continue to work with the industry on how to ensure responsible gambling’. It is presumed that the planned ‘reform’ of gambling regulation will involve seeing through changes that were already announced in the white paper, rather than another overhaul.

“Gambling reform appears to have cross-party support and it’s highly likely that the Labour Party will be keen to get previously announced gambling reforms completed, rather than any further tightening of what has already been proposed. A number of measures contained in the white paper require secondary or primary legislation, and the industry will be watching to see how quickly Labour picks up the legislative process to implement these measures.

“Outstanding measures that require secondary or primary legislation are issues such as online slots stake limits, statutory levy, land-based machine increases and cashless payments on gaming machines. It is expected that all of the current proposals will be implemented as planned.

“In addition, possible changes to the regulation of lotteries and free draws were mooted in the white paper and some operators have answered a questionnaire about these proposals. It’s unclear yet whether these proposals will result in legislation, duty changes and/or a new code of practice.

“Having taken so long to get the current reforms off the ground, I can’t see any new gambling reforms being a hot topic for quite a while. Certainly, the newly formed Labour government will have bigger fish to fry in its early years.”

Michael Dugher, Betting and Gaming Council CEO and former Labour MP

“On behalf of our members, the 110,000 people whose jobs rely on the regulated betting and gaming industry, and the 22.5 million people who enjoy a bet each month, we welcome Labour’s victory and its commitment to continue working with the industry.

“The Betting and Gaming Council(BGC) and our members remain committed to working with Labour to implement the evidence-based, proportionate, regulatory changes outlined in the white paper, ensuring those measures get the balance right between protecting the vulnerable while allowing the vast majority of punters who enjoying betting responsibly to continue doing so without unnecessary intrusion.

“The BGC had long treated Labour as a government in waiting, working closely with shadow ministers in recent years, on behalf of our members and their millions of customers.

“Our work to drive up standards and champion a world-leading British industry carries on and we look forward to partnering with Labour – as they have pledged – in this vitally important work.”

Julie Harrington, British Horseracing Authority CEO

“Congratulations to Labour on its general election victory and to Sir Keir Starmer on his appointment as prime minister. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will build upon our already extensive engagement with Labour while in opposition, and we look forward to working constructively with the new government.

“As the nation’s second most-popular sport and one of Britain’s cultural cornerstones, we will encourage Labour to do everything it can to support racing.”