What’s The Latest with the UK Gambling Whitepaper?

If you have any interest in gambling and perhaps even if you don’t, you have probably heard about the UK Government whitepaper. The whitepaper itself has been a couple of years in the making, with several reasons being cited for its delay in the past. If you have followed the journey towards its publication then you’ll know it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster journey, with several periods of people adamant it would be released in a few days and several more periods of people saying that it has been delayed even further, and several reasons given for doing so.

The UK Review

This has been the situation now since the Act review process commenced in November 2020. A consultation was carried out on a number of subjects and information was gathered, but while the white paper was to be expected in the closing months, this did not happen.

This was not an anticipated situation, indeed the document appears to have been ready for publication in July, but this was not to be as the government structure was to change drastically with the resignation of Boris Johnson, and the Conservative government turned their attention to selecting a new leader. With the loss of Boris Johnson came a number of ministers’ resignations, but one preceding resignation (that of MP Chris Philp) had the effect of postponing the review and the expected white paper further and further into the future.

What Do the Industry Think?

Sports and racing industries are all used to having to adapt and change in order to keep up with the newest regulations placed upon them. The UK Government Commission and even the Advertising Standards Agency all have made changes over recent years which they have had to abide by. However, the repeated delays of the whitepaper publication and various rumours surrounding what the paper is likely to contain have left many feeling frustrated. Whilst they accept that some changes do need to be made and would be happy to embrace them, it is the waiting in limbo for official news surrounding the whitepaper and its content which is leaving many people feeling frustrated. Sponsorship of major sporting events is something that is likely to be changed and those involved in that industry will certainly want to know what changes are likely sooner rather than later.

A Look at the Review

Those within the industry and keen gamblers have been waiting for this review since as far back as 2020. We all know that the events of 2020 are likely to have caused some significant delay but many feel that the delay is far more than could be justified. As you might imagine, in the months that we have been waiting for the whitepaper to actually be released there have been several rumours as to what it could contain and the impact this could have on the industry. There have been several rumours surrounding what the paper could contain including things like changes to sports betting sponsorships.

What’s The Latest News?

With all the recent changes to the structure of government within the UK, new ministers have been appointed recently. These changes and the new blood they bring are affecting the throughput of government legislation. With many new ministers keen to make their mark on future white papers and legislation changes. For the industry, the long-awaited white paper and the Act reforms may initially have been postponed a number of times in recent years and any timeline for its future is hard to predict.

With the appointment of the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, hope was placed, but again this did not further the Acts reform when only 44 days later, she resigned, Rishi Sunak took the job of leading the Conservative party and the role of prime minister. His first reshuffle of the cabinet saw Paul Scully appointed as the minister responsible. Although clearly required by the party to maintain a suitable government, this process has introduced further potential delays to any future white paper publication date.

As an evolving sector, this delay in legislation reform is likely stalling investment and future developments within the industry. As a heavily customer-focused industry, great investments are required behind the scenes to bring the industry’s entertainment potential to its customers. Legislation delay can only hurt the UK industry at a time when many alternative forms of entertainment exist, both at home and abroad.

Will The Paper Be Released in 2023?

The truth is that no one can say for sure whether we’ll see a release of the paper next year, although those involved in its creation are probably keen to put it to bed. The industry in general will be keen for the paper to be released so that they can get to work implementing any changes that come with the new guidelines that could be released.

However, with several delays already having taken place there are others that wonder whether the paper should ever be released or whether it should be scrapped and a new paper put together in its place. After all, technology is evolving and the way gamblers online and other services is always changing. As such, with the consolation process regarding the whitepaper first being started over 24 months ago, the information could easily be seen as outdated.

We do know that changes to legislation are likely to happen soon and as such more of the industry is braced for needing to make some changes in 2023. That said, many of them are still in the dark as to what those changes are likely to be – so we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds regarding these possible changes to the industry.

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