Implications for the industry if Downing Street spearheads gambling reform

It might be tempting to take on more work or a new project which could ultimately be beneficial to you in your career, or even some additional training to supplement your existing set of skills.

Unfortunately, in taking on these new responsibilities, there is an inherent danger that by spreading resources too thinly, you might compromise standards in both your existing and future work.

The UK government faces perhaps the biggest combination of challenges since the second world war, in trying to negotiate a mutually beneficial trade deal with the European Union while also dealing with a potential second wave of Covid-19, with both outcomes more than likely to accelerate an inevitable financial crisis.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly set to add even more to his burgeoning workload in taking a leading role in the forthcoming gambling act review.

A Sunday report in The Guardian claimed the PM, alongside his much-maligned adviser Dominic Cummings and number 10 policy unit director Munira Mirza, has taken a “personal interest” in spearheading gambling reform.

But can the industry afford to have a preoccupied prime minister take charge of rewriting the 2005 Gambling Act, or will this lead to detrimental reform based on political points scoring?

Below, four financial industry stakeholders share their thoughts on the speculation with EGR:

Regulus Partners analyst Dan Waugh

The suggestion that gambling reform should be anywhere near the top of Boris Johnson’s ‘to do’ list is risible given the challenges facing the country right now. It seems implausible that the prime minister and his team are going to spend the time necessary to understand key issues in all their complexity – and this raises the risk that we get political fixes rather than sound policy. Some may worry that the review of the gambling act becomes a device to divert attention from the government’s performance in other areas; and that the more that the prime minister becomes personally involved, the greater will be the motivation for the opposition to try to outbid him on reform. In essence, the more the review becomes about political points-scoring, the less likely it is to result in sustainable legislative reform.

GBGC CEO Warwick Bartlett

In general, whenever the government takes an interest in any business, no good will come out of it for that particular business. The recent House of Lords reports I thought was more balanced than the hysteria created by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) report, and I would have thought Downing Street would have taken a lead from the House of Lords, otherwise why set it up in the first place? I expect our prime minister to have enough on his plate with Brexit, Covid-19 and the potential of a new president in the USA than to take a close interest in gambling which represents about one percent of the UK economy.

Wiggin partner Simon Bernholt

On the gambling act review, there is clearly a lot of media speculation (some created by strategic leaks from unnamed sources), but there is still a lot of uncertainty. Many recommendations from the reports by the APPG and the House of Lords do not strictly require primary legislation, and could be implemented via statutory instrument and/or by the Gambling Commission, but if Downing Street is to be involved then that suggests that more headline-grabbing primary legislation is on the agenda. That will certainly be higher profile but will have to compete for the legislative timetable with the government’s other priorities. Whichever implementation route is taken, the changes will be more detrimental to the business models of some in the industry than others, but our main hope (which, in an ideal world, would be an expectation) is that the review will be evidence-based. Much of the media coverage of the industry is very negative and a balanced debate is needed if we are to achieve workable, proportionate regulation.

Northridge Law LLP partner Melanie Ellis

Although share prices have taken a hit with this news, once the review takes place gambling operators will benefit from certainty as to what the amended regulations will be. It is also likely that Johnson will be a moderating influence on the review, with an eye on the financial impact of proposed changes on the commercial viability of the industry and, ultimately, tax revenues. However, with Brexit and Covid-19 to deal with as priorities, it is difficult to see how Johnson is going to be able to devote much attention to the review in the coming months.

Clifton Davies director David Clifton

It has become very much open to question whether government policy on Covid-19 – steered by Johnson and Cummings – has truly been “following the science” or, alternatively, doing what best suits the government’s own interests. If Number 10 is also to steer the government’s path through its imminent review of gambling legislation, one can’t help but wonder whether a similar question might arise, namely will Johnson and Cummings truly be following the evidence? That becomes even more concerning if it is really the case that the PM just sees gambling as “people being exploited”, as is suggested in The Guardian’s article.