No election crystal ball: 9 key considerations for operators
Labour’s manifesto commitment to ‘reduce gambling related harm, recognise the evolution of the gambling landscape since 2005, reform gambling regulation, strengthen protection and continue to work with the industry on how to ensure responsible gambling’ is all well and good, but what would a change of government mean for the industry in practice?
Of course, based on such a brief, woolly statement, no one can answer that question with any certainty. However, if the polls are correct and we do wave goodbye to the Tory government July 4th, there are numerous changes which we expect to see come into fruition in the reasonably near future, which may well be swept back under the proverbial legislative carpet.
Whilst we at #BetsmartTowers don’t pretend to have a crystal ball, it’s always useful to be mindful of potential developments coming over the horizon and considering what that could mean for your business, whether it be from a compliance, planning or commercial perspective. With that in mind we’ve compiled what we hope is a useful list for operators to refer to.
To be clear, these are changes which the current government has stated will be enacted through amendments to primary or secondary legislation. Whilst decisions had been made about how to proceed on quite a few of them, the below list details white paper commitments yet to come into force, which potentially risk being re-considered or deprioritised following a change of government.
Gambling Commission powers and resources
This included changes in licence fees to ensure that the Commission has appropriate resources available to manage regulatory overhaul under the Gambling Act review and take a more ambitious approach to enforcement, in addition to strengthening of its powers to manage black market activity. Since publishing the white paper back in April 2023, this has been a hot topic of conversation within government which remains ongoing, pending final decisions being made and changes to both primary and secondary legislation being enacted.
Safer gambling messaging
The government committed to work together with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Gambling Commission, drawing on public health and social marketing expertise to develop a new, evidence-based model for independently developed safer gambling messages. Since publication of the white paper itself, we haven’t heard much on this aside from the government committing to establish a working group.
Online stake limits
Following public consultation throughout the second half of 2023, the government stated that it would introduce a maximum statutory limit of £5 per spin for adults aged 25 and over and £2 per spin for adults aged between 18 and 24. These limits were set to be implemented under secondary legislation which was expected to be passed before September 2024.
Statutory levy
The much reported and discussed statutory levy seems like it will be a foregone conclusion under any government, however exactly what it will look like in terms of structure and governance remains to be seen. DCMS consulted on this at the end of 2023 and the response is yet to be published.
The following five areas of change have all been commented on very recently, within the DCMS consultation response to measures related to the land-based gambling sector. This was published in May 2024, outlining the current government’s intended way forward.
Cashless payments in land-based venues
There were several changes due to be coming down the line to enable a move to cashless payments. Whilst tight controls were looking to be mandated within the outlined framework, this move was still considered to be a positive outcome for the land-based sector.
Casino measures
Again, there were multiple changes which the current government intended to implement to drive modernisation of regulation applying to land based casinos. These mainly focused on machine count and ratios and, similar to cashless payments, were considered to be a positive outcome for the land-based sector.
Increasing the minimum age to play cash-pay-out Category D slots to 18 years
In effort to further protect children and create a clear distinction between gambling products for adults and lower risk products accessible to children (such as coin pushers), it was decided to make permitting, inviting or causing under 18s to play cash-pay-out Cat. D slots games a criminal offence.
Gambling machine ratios – bingo halls and arcades
A 2:1 ratio, allowing an operator to site 2 Category B machines for each Category C or D machine, where devices are of a comparable size was approved for implementation. Meaning that the new ratio approach would be applied on a device type basis.
Review of licensing authority fees
The decision was made to increase the maximum premises licence fees chargeable by local authorities by 15%, as initially proposed in the white paper itself. In addition, the alignment of gambling licensing with alcohol licensing around Cumulative Impact Assessment requirements was also outlined within the white paper.
We all need expert professional help when trying to get ahead of the regulatory curve, especially in times of change - safeguarding your organisation’s future has never been simpler, to find out more specific key considerations for your organisation, start the conversation today on info@betsmartconsulting.com.