Tim Miller, executive director at the UK Gambling Commission, has said the white paper will likely take a “number of years” to fully implement, but called for “rapid progress” on certain key recommendations.
The UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport published the long-awaited review into the country’s 2005 Gambling Act last Thursday.
It aims to bring legislation into the digital age, with Secretary of State Lucy Frazer admitting the advent of the smartphone had left the current laws lacking in effect.
Among the recommendations are limits for maximum stakes on online slots, a mandatory levy on gambling companies for treatment of addiction and an Ombudsman. The government also outlined plans to bring in checks on customers who posted a certain threshold of losses and widespread plans were also announced for the land-based sector.
Many of the proposals face a consultation period, with Miller confirming in a blog post on the Gambling Commission website that the first white paper-related Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice “will be published this summer.”
Miller added that “pre-consultation engagement with stakeholders” will have begun in a number of policy areas in the summer.
Miller said: “Whilst the implementation of the white paper – which has over 60 areas of work for the Gambling Commission alone – will likely take a number of years to fully complete, that doesn’t mean we can’t make rapid progress in a number of key areas.
“Already, project teams have been pulled together to start work on the various recommendations that the white paper has made and where actions have been set out for the Commission.”
The white paper also outlined plans to give the Gambling Commission more powers to tackle illegal gambling and the black market, which Miller said alongside further cross-collaboration with government, “will help us deliver on our growing regulatory responsibilities.”
Miller concluded that there will be “very little space” for the Commission to consider “other policy developments not included in the white paper” due to the “scale of change” announced.
