Review taking place online

A review of the UK’s Gambling Act 2005 is currently taking place by the Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group (APBGG). It plans to work with stakeholders across the industry, including operators and charities, to identify whether changes are required to ensure the laws are still relevant.

any data collected as part of its investigation will be passed on to the DCMS

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) had previously announced that a review would be commenced. However, a date had still to be confirmed. The APBGG has said that any data collected as part of its investigation will be passed on to the DCMS.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, all work relating to the investigation will take place online. This will include surveys and written submissions that will be processed through the APBGG website.

Witnesses interrogated on four key topics

As part of the group’s discussions with experts and interested stakeholders, the APBGG will hold individual webinars on each topic that will allow interested parties to comment. If the initial four webinars prove successful, the APBGG has suggested that it would be open to further webinars and topics of interest.

Speakers and dates are still to be arranged.

Review follows plea from DCMS

The need for an urgent review of the 2005 Gambling Act was written into the Conservative manifesto during the 2019 election. While the DCMS has yet to announce a date for a planned review, gambling remains a hot topic for the government.

Earlier this week Nigel Huddleston, the minister for sport, tourism and heritage, asked five key operators for their help and support in protecting vulnerable players during the pandemic.

he asked for all adverts to display safer gambling messages more prominently

He sent a letter to the chief executives of Flutter Entertainment, William Hill, Skybet, GVC Holdings, and Bet365. In this letter, he asked for all adverts to display safer gambling messages more prominently.

The Gambling Commission has already been criticized over its lack of regulatory powers as gambling moves forward into the digital age. Recently, it called for collaboration with operators to help look out for vulnerable customers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Report could be completed by the end of the year

As for the completion of the APBGG report, the group hopes that it could have its recommendations completed by the end of the year.

Commenting on the review, APBGG co-chair Philip Davies MP, said:

“The purpose of these sessions is to help inform the government in their work in this area. We want to listen to the legitimate concerns people have of the gambling industry as well as ensure the industry gets a fair hearing as well.”

The APBGG will now look to contact operators and arrange a collaboration. It will also open up a survey on its website to gather additional information.