In the eye of gambling review storm

COVID, the war in Ukraine and a cost of living crisis amid internal strife in the Government means that the long-awaited gambling review has been kicked further and further into the long grass.

However, this week the white paper is set to be announced in the biggest review into the industry since the Gambling Act was implemented in 2005. The act created the Gambling Commission to regulate gambling and supervise gaming law in Great Britain.

This review has been in the pipeline since December 2020 and the remit is to ensure that regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age. With fears that gambling regulation online is out of control, leading to addiction and bankruptcy, there have been harrowing tales of people taking their own lives and that’s prompted a call in some quarters for affordability checks and bans on adverts of betting companies on TV and in football as a means of sponsorship.

Racing is in the eye of a storm. It’s a sport primarily funded by gambling, a levy that’s bankrolled by losing punters. Restrict that and racing is in deep trouble but lobbying too heavily for a largely unregulated sector that is being increasingly looked upon as a social evil by many in society is equally risky.

Perhaps that’s why the sport is looking to bring in new customers in a more diverse manner. Make it a day out and more about the horses and less about betting. But that doesn’t wash. Racing is reliant on punting and can’t alienate or block the old guard who love the game and ultimately, win or lose, directly contribute to the sport.

But the big elephant in the room is that affordability checks are already impinged on most by a Commission that has performed beyond its remit in anticipation that this review would be harderhitting. Bookmakers already have sensitive financial details of most punters and can identify winners, losers and problem gamblers now.

Those are two significant factors at play and it’s the restricted responsible gambler having to share financial details with bookies that suffers. Racing needs these people. The review should focus on the effectiveness of the regulator.