After more than two years of delays, the British government has finally released its Gambling Act review and the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is reacting positively to its release. The BGC posted its response to the white paper, and its proposed reforms in a recent posting from BGC CEO Michael Dugher.
Dugher’s recations to the proposed reforms were largely positive, though he did say that the industry still needs some time to digest the long-delayed reform proposals. “On behalf of our many 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 the much-delayed publication of the Gambling White Paper.
“We need time to consider the full detail and impacts of these proposals, but it is important to recognise the BGC has worked closely with Government to deliver a wide-ranging package of balanced, proportionate and effective reforms,” he said.
In particular, Dugher praised the paper’s authors for not bowing to the more extreme demands for reform that were made by anti-gambling activists as the paper was being written. “We welcome the decision to reject proposals from anti-gambling prohibitionists for blanket, low-level and intrusive affordability checks, as well as their calls for bans on advertising, sports sponsorship and consumer promotions, which would harm our best-loved sports like horseracing and football, threaten jobs and drive customers to the growing unsafe, unregulated gambling black market online.” he added.
Dugher and the BGC say that the industry is both ready, and eager, to implement the proposed reforms outlined in the white paper as soon as possible.