For all the trouble its latest proposals will cause for ordinary bettors and industries like the horse racing industry, they won’t even help the very people they purport to protect.
It will give the CMA almost unlimited powers to prosecute big tech companies. The Bill is a signal to stop investing in Britain.
Government must protect the vulnerable, but the vast majority who bet safely and happily should be able to do so without needless intrusion.
In Stoke, bet365 employs over 5000 people in a myriad of roles, many highly skilled and well paid. Jobs like these are the lifeblood of any community.
The best way to protect the small proportion who struggle is to guarantee a mature, well-regulated gaming sector.
If our members are constricted further, with no freedom to compete and invest, it is not just they and their customers which will suffer. It will be the Treasury.
The Betting and Gaming Council want Britain to carry on boasting a truly world class betting and gaming industry.
Our focus groups in Wakefield are a wake-up call for the Government: responsible adults neither want nor need nannying.
It would divert resources from effective third-sector charities and place unnecessary extra pressure on the NHS.
This world-leading, multi-billion pound industry yields hundreds of millions in tax revenue and supports tens of thousands of jobs.
The next operator must address falling receipts, an ageing player base, and reduced funds for good causes.
A unified wallet would cut red tape, prevent abuses, and provide a better insight into an individual’s circumstances.
The work the regulated industry is doing to promote safer gambling is having an effect.
BGC members have recently drawn up a code of conduct, which aims to protect children from gambling ads, among other steps.
The White Paper balances the important duty to protect gamblers from harm without infringing on the rights of individuals to spend their money how they choose, or taking a heavy-handed approach with the UK’s important betting and gaming industry.