2020-09-22

UK’s Johnson to Oversee Gambling Review, Sees Gambling as Exploitation

Downing Street and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took a particular interest in the pending study of the gaming laws. Johnson and associates will aim to implement changes to the current regulatory system, according to the Guardian, citing reports.

The review is undertaken by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), although sources close to the topic have indicated that it could be Johnson and his associates who will be in charge of the analysis process.

Johnson and his advisors saw gambling as a way of people being abused, according to one person who talked with the Guardian but preferred to remain anonymous. Both Dominic Cummings and Munira Mirza, two of the nearest aides who frequently handle the agenda of the prime minister, took a particular interest in the 2005 Gambling Act being revamped.

In reality, they've long called for the study. Under Tony Blair, the original gambling regulation was enforced and it allowed the gaming industry to grow, converting Britain into the world's largest and most profitable legal market.

The liberal approach to business can now come to an end, according to the Guardians. People close to the matter say that there is a strong chance of cutting back the number of reforms adopted back in 2005. The PM is also allegedly mulling imposing new commercial bans or, at the very least, reducing visibility.

The 'best way authorities' re-regulating the industry intend to step in and take over the DCMS when they believe that gambling promotional submissions can affect the watchdog's objectivity. The Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston, said a comprehensive analysis of the gambling act could be appropriate, but once again, DCMS minister Lady Barran said the data was insufficient to support the argument that ads contributed to gambling issues.

"I can't be sure about the nature of the study, but the data isn't straightforward about the connection between advertisements and trouble gambling, particularly among young people."

The DCMS further disagreed that the agency was not doing its job to monitor and ban potentially dangerous advertisement. The biggest impetus for revising the current gambling laws came from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) spearheading a reform though citing gambling-related damage as the reason.

Labor MP Carolyn Harris, former Tory leader Ian Duncan Smith and a SNP senator, Ronnie Cowan, are active supporters within the APPG. Another big drive has come from the "peers for gaming reform" party, supporting stricter checks on pricing as well as reducing stakes and restricting the speed of online casino games.

The organization has also urged more responsibility against gaming companies who neglect or slow down mandatory tests on liquidity, meaning that trouble gamblers have staked too many, potentially hurting them financially.

Lord Foster of Bath, chairman of the association, has this to say quoted in the Guardian: "Internet gaming firms have cashed in on the pandemic, making more gains and putting more lives at risk. The government is taking immediate steps to overhaul our utterly ineffective legislation".

Gambling is facing dramatic changes in what is perceived to be one of the world's biggest markets.