MP urges review of ‘toothless’ regulatory body for gambling

THE “toothless” Gambling Commission is failing to understand the widespread damage the industry is causing to consumers, the Public Accounts Committee warns in a damning report published today.

Levelling criticism at the UK’s gambling regulatory body, MPs claim the commission is leaving people with little recourse for action against irresponsible operators which are circumventing betting laws.

With an estimated 395,000 “problem gamblers” across the country, they identify the online market as “the main area of increasing risk and complexity”, as many have been enticed into playing games such as poker and blackjack from home since lockdown.

There is particular concern around online fixed odd betting, which falls under “lottery” legislation, allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to play and potentially get hooked on digital scratchcards.

In its recommendations, the PAC, which examines the cost-efficiency of Government projects, calls for urgent research into the “devastating” consequences of gambling, including criminality, financial troubles, relationship breakdowns and suicide. It suggests the Government treats it like other public health issues, such as alcoholism or obesity, which are tackled with the help of large studies that lead to the effective allocation of resources.

The report also criticises the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, which oversees the Gambling Commission, for being “complacent” in its supervisory duties and for lacking robust targets to reduce the impact of “gambling harms”. The departmental leadership lacks the “urgency” to address the fact the commission has “no key performance indicators” to monitor the effect of regulatory changes within the industry, it notes.

Meg Hillier MP, chairman of the cross-party committee, concluded: “What has emerged in evidence is a picture of a torpid, toothless regulator that does not seem terribly interested in either the harms it exists to reduce or the means it might use to achieve that. The Commission needs a radical overhaul: it must be quicker at responding to problems, update company licence conditions to protect vulnerable consumers and beef up those consumers’ rights to redress when it fails.”

“The issue of gambling harm is not high up enough on the Government’s agenda. The review of the Gambling Act is long overdue.”