General election 2019: Conservatives pledge to review “analogue” UK Gambling Act

The UK Conservative Party has pledged to launch a full review of the 2005 UK Gambling Act, echoing Labour in calling it an “analogue law in a digital age”.

Releasing its manifesto for the forthcoming election, Boris Johnson’s Tory Party pledged to introduce legislation to make the UK “the safest place in the world to be online”.

The party said it will conduct a review of the Gambling Act with a particular focus on addressing credit card misuse in gambling and issues around loot boxes.

Both issues have been under scrutiny over the last year, with the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) mulling a potential ban on credit card usage in gambling, while a parliamentary committee enquiry recommended that loot boxes be banned due to alleged links with gambling amongst minors.

In its own manifesto released last week, the Labour party also pledged to introduce new legislation “fit for the digital age”, replacing the 2005 UK Gambling Act.

This includes the establishment of gambling limits, a levy for the funding of problem gambling treatment and the creation of mechanisms for consumer compensation. The party said it will “curb” gambling advertising in sports.

In addition, the Labour Party has included gambling-related harm among several “matters of public health” and has said it will address this issue through expanded addiction support services.

Melanie Ellis, partner at Northridge Law LLP, said possible restrictions on advertising would be a concern to operators, due to the likelihood of further restrictions on sports sponsorships.

However, Ellis said the introduction of gambling limits will be “more troubling” for operators.

“Labour’s proposal to set ‘gambling limits’ is unlikely to go as far as the APPG’s suggestion to impose £2 stake limits online, but some restrictions, at least on online slots, should be expected from a Labour government, whether that takes the form of some kind of financial limit or restrictions on the speed of play,” Ellis added.

A Conservative majority is currently 1.45 on Betfair, with a Labour majority 44.0.

The Liberal Democrats manifesto did not pledge a review of the UK Gambling Act, but the party said it would look to establish a so-called “Gambling Ombudsman” for the UK.

However, further detail on the duties of this gambling ombudsman and its role within the current UK industry were not provided.

The party also said it would introduce a compulsory levy on gambling operators to fund problem gambling treatment as well the restriction of gambling advertising.

Finally, the Liberal Democrats said they would ban the use of credit cards in gambling.

Speaking about the potential future of the industry, Ellis said the “direction of travel for UK regulated gambling is clear”, regardless of which party took power.

However, she said more pressing issue of Brexit would cause potential changes to be delayed until the latter half of 2020.

“We may be coming close to a high-water mark of restrictions on gambling and the combination of the threat to the c.£3bn in gambling duty revenues and the potential public backlash against the intervention of the nanny state should put some brakes on the extent of the new restrictions,” Ellis added.