Crackdown on the betting shop in your pocket
Smartphones leave our analogue laws out-of-date, declares minister
THE Culture Secretary said changes to gambling laws are needed to combat addiction caused by the ‘betting shop in your pocket’.
Oliver Dowden, whose department will lead the biggest shakeup of the rules for the industry in 15 years, said he was struck by conversations he had with ‘victims’ of gambling addiction.
Smartphones and online betting have changed the industry and left Britain’s ‘analogue’ laws out of date. Bookmakers are scouring the gambling review, concerned it could roll back years of rapid growth and hit profits.
The shares of Britain’s giants – Ladbrokes owner GVC, Paddy Power owner Flutter and William Hill – have risen in the pandemic as gambling on phones boomed.
The review, launched yesterday, could result in maximum stakes online and tough checks on whether players can afford losses.
Marketing could be reined in, with new powers to investigate and fine companies. Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, told the Mail: ‘ The Gambling Act i s an analogue act for the digital age designed two years before smartphones. Now the majority of gambling is online and on phones.
‘I was struck by what victims were saying. You essentially have a betting shop in your pocket. I think it’s right that we look at regulations.’
Bookies could be banned from wining and dining their biggest losers and offering cash kickbacks.
Dowden added: ‘There is a world of difference between high net worth individuals and spec i f i c al l y t argeting people because they’re going to place very large bets, without any consideration whether they can afford it. Many MPs have raised concerns about the dreadful outcome of gamblers who commit suicide, or are dragged into a spiral of problem gambling.
‘The purpose of this review is to tackle it upstream.’
MPs and campaigners have their sights on the ‘wild west’ online sector following the passing of a £2 maximum stake on ‘crack cocaine’ fixed odd betting terminals (FOBTs), which came into force last year.
The Mail has highlighted dozens of cases, under its Stop the Gambling Predators campaign.
Playtech paid a £3.5m fine this year after engineer Chris Bruney, 25, killed himself hours after being handed £ 450 i n cash bonuses. The case followed multi-million-pound fines for systemic social responsibility or money laundering failures to William Hill, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes Coral and Betway, which sponsors West Ham United.
The Gambling Commission has banned betting on credit cards, and i s consulting on whether to cap deposits, with a ‘soft cap’ of £100 and £450 per month mooted.
MPs have called for online games, which have no stake limit, to be capped at £2 per spin. On the High Street the move led to hundreds of betting shops closing.
Such changes online would hit companies’ valuations and profits. Share prices fell by up to 8pc when MPs called for an online stake limit in February.
But since then, they have soared thanks to lockdown habits and gambling liberalisation, especially in the US. Flutter is up 58pc this year, valued at £22.7bn. It is now the largest gambling firm in the world.
GVC has risen 12pc and William Hill 37pc thanks to its £2.9bn sale to Caesar’s Entertainment. The deal is part of a boom in the US, where a legal decision has allowed states to open up online sports betting.
Germany has implemented a £900 monthly wagering limit and maximum annual bonuses for customers. GVC has promised ‘enhanced’ protection for players, which will hit earnings by £40m, and bookmakers have upped contributions to addiction treatment, and agreed to limit adverts around live sport.
The Government publishes a white paper for consultation next year.
The industry, MPs and addiction campaigners will feel a long battle for the future of British gambling has only just begun.
STOP THE GAMBLING PREDATORS