Great Britain’s ongoing political chaos has not been good news for Great Britain’s gaming industry. Each successive crisis has pushed back the release of the long-awaited white paper on gaming reform that is likely to significantly change the way operators do business.
Now the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is calling in newly installed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deliver “sensible” gaming reforms, and to do deliver them quickly.
In a statement posted on the BGC website, Michael Dugher, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council highlighted some friendly advice for the new PM about the importance of the gaming industry and how it should be treated by government. “Our members are ready, willing and able to assist in the post-pandemic economic recovery. They already support tens of thousands of jobs across the UK, helping to generate billions of pounds in revenue for the Treasury, and with ambitious plans for further expansion in the years to come,” he said.
Dugher made copious mentions of the UK horse racing industry, which is very active in the district Sunak represented as a Member of Parliament, as well as the industry’s importance to the British economy saying, “BGC members contribute £7.7bn to the UK economy, including £4.5bn in tax, as well as sustaining nearly 120,000 jobs – something our new PM and his team fully understand from their time running the Treasury.”
But, as much as anything, Dugher and everyone else in the UK gambling business wants their government to move forward with that long-awaited white paper. “We also hope the new administration makes speedy progress on a sensible, proportionate and carefully targeted gambling white paper, one that helps to further drive up standards and protect the vulnerable, whilst safeguarding jobs, investment and sport – and not spoiling the enjoyment of the overwhelming majority of punters who bet safely and responsibly.”
So far there’s been no word from Sunak about the release of the white paper, but he has only been in office for a couple of days.