LONDON: A white paper on gambling, recently presented by the UK Government, marks the biggest change in regulation in this sector in about two decades, say reports.
Pointing out that with the advent of the smartphone, gambling has been transformed, UK’s Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer stated, “Today, in 2023, it is positively unrecognisable from when the Gambling Act was introduced in 2005.”
In her oral statement to the House of Commons on the Government’s white paper on gambling, she emphasised on the need to protect children. “Gambling is an adult activity, and it must remain an adult activity,” she stressed.
Young gamblers stake
According to the new proposals, young gamblers could be limited to a maximum stake of £2 (about Rs 204) on online slot machines.
“The online world has transformed so many parts of life – and gambling is no exception,” the Culture Secretary said, “It’s our responsibility to make sure our rules and regulations keep up with the real world, so that we can protect the most vulnerable while also allowing everyone else to enjoy gambling without harm.”
Apart from children and young adults, the white paper is structured around five other main themes in the call for evidence, followed by annexes on the estimated overall impact of our proposals and a summary of the submissions received to the call for evidence.
UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer
Marketing, advertising
Among the themes it will address are online protections for players and products, ensuring measures in marketing and advertising, enhancing gambling Commission’s powers, and addressing resources dispute resolution and consumer redress and land-based gambling “Ours has always been a freedomloving democracy where people are entitled to spend their money how they please and where they please,” said Frazer in her statement. “And millions choose to spend some of their hard-earned money on the odd bet on a match or a race without any problems,” she added.
The plan is expected to include checks on gamblers who lose £1,000 (about Rs1.02 lakh) in a day. Frazer pointed out that gambling sponsors are strongly present in toptier football. Figures indicated that eight out of 20 Premier League teams in the 2022-23 season had a front-ofshirt gambling sponsor and all teams in the League had an ‘official betting partner’.
In the UK, lottery draws attract major participation from adult gamblers. Online slot machines come a distant second, closely followed by sports betting and private wagers.
