Gambling Act Review White Paper released

The ALLIANCE Scotland Reducing Gambling Harm programme welcomes the release of the Gambling Act Review White Paper by the UK Government.

The review of the Gambling Act 2005 launched with a call for evidence which ran from December 2020 to March 2021 and received over 16,000 submissions.

The Gambling Act Review White Paper has been published to ensure that people are better protected from experiencing gambling-related harm, with government plans to update betting rules to ensure they are “fit for the digital age”.

The measures set out in the White Paper are hoped to protect people from unaffordable losses, prevent children and young people from experiencing harm, and hold gambling operators to account when they fail in their responsibility to protect individuals. They include:

• A statutory gambling operator levy to ensure that operators help fund treatment services and research, including through the NHS. ​
• New stake limits for online slots games that will be between £2 and £15 per spin. The UK Government will also consult on measures to give greater protections for 18–24 year olds who are at greater risk of harm.
• Player protection checks to protect those most at risk of harm before unaffordable or harmful losses are incurred.
• Greater powers for the Gambling Commission to tackle black market operators through court orders and work with internet service providers to block illegal gambling sites.
• Rules to prevent bonus offers harming those most at risk, for example, looking at how free bets or spins are constructed and targeted to stop them being harmful.
• Closing loopholes to make sure under-18s cannot gamble online or via cash fruit machines. This includes bringing football pools betting in line with National Lottery play for over-18s only.
• A new industry ombudsman to deal with disputes and rule on redress where a customer suffers losses due to an operator failing in their player protection duties.
• A review of the current horserace betting levy to make certain racing continues to thrive.

These are the most comprehensive reviews of the gambling sector since the Gambling Act was introduced in 2005.

The ALLIANCE Scotland Reducing Gambling Harm programme will be working with people with lived experience in the coming months to formulate an official response to the White Paper. See below, for our initial consultation response on the Review of the Gambling Act 2005.

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