The Betting and Gaming Council represented the UK gaming market at a roundtable with politicians from the Conservatives on Tuesday.
The session, titled Future of the Gambling Industry, hosted by the shadow Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), explored responsible gambling and regulatory developments.
BGC CEO Grainne Hurst said: “It was fantastic to sit down alongside our members and other stakeholders from across our diverse sector to thrash out the challenges and opportunities facing the sector today with the shadow DCMS team.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have Stuart Andrew and Louie French, two dedicated MPs who understand this industry, and are keen to ensure the opposition are completely across the key pressures facing our members, their millions of customers, and thousands of employees.
“Collaboration is key for the BGC, and we welcome this positive engagement with the shadow DCMS team.”
Meanwhile, at a parliamentary health and social care committee hearing on Tuesday, April 2, gambling harm researchers had their say on topics such as advertising, land-based casino reforms and the statutory levy.
Sam Chamberlain, professor of psychiatry at the University of Southampton was joined by Heather Wardle, professor of gambling research and policy at the University of Glasgow and Lucy Hubber, director of Public Health Nottingham.
Wardle said the UK industry requires “much more severe restrictions and greater protections” for children and young people, as well as those suffering from gambling harms.
“We think gambling is normalised because we see it so much in the advertising, but when you actually look at the [Gambling Commission] data, only 16 per cent of the population have bet on sports in the past year. It is actually a minority behaviour, yet we feel it’s a majority behaviour.”
