Two MPs Accept Prominent Jobs in the Gambling Industry Prior to Pending UK Government’s Gambling Legislation Review

Two Members of Parliaments from the Conservative Party have agreed to take jobs in the UK gambling industry just prior to the pending Government review of the country’s gambling laws. As revealed by The Guardian, the jobs are worth tens of thousands of pounds.

According to parliamentary disclosures, Philip Davies MP accepted a job with GVC Holdings that is to pay him £33,320, or £396 an hour, to consult the company on customer service and responsible gambling issues. The first instalment of the money was accepted by Mr Davies on August 27th. However, he remained in his position as a member of the Select Committee for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCSM) until this week.

Another Tory Member of Parliament – Laurence Robertson – accepted a job at the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the trade body of the UK gambling sector. He started the job on October 1st and will be paid £2,000 for 10 hours on monthly basis, or £24,000 a year, for providing his services as a parliamentary adviser on sport and safer gambling to the BGC.

Although Mr Robertson said that he would not back the betting sector or make submissions to the ongoing gambling review as a member of the cross-party parliamentary group on gambling, the fact he accepted the job caused some concern for possible conflict of interest.

Campaigners Share Concern for Possible Conflict of Interest with MPs’ Gambling Industry Roles

Both Members of Parliament have been active supporters of the horseracing and gambling industry and have previously been asked for an explanation for hospitality worth thousands of pounds that was given to them by gambling companies. However, the fact they accepted the highly-paid jobs with two entities that are expected to be among the most eager supporters of a more relaxed gambling regulation has unlocked a whole new level of criticism.

One of the leading campaigners for gambling reforms, Carolyn Harris MP, commented there could be a conflict of interest, as both Mr Davies and Mr Robertson had been supporting the gambling industry for quite some time.

This is not the first time when a Member of Parliament has accepted a highly-paid job at a large gambling operator in the case. In fact, the revelations regarding Mr Davies and Mr Robertson’s new jobs for the sector come several weeks after the Labour deputy leader Tom Watson faced harsh criticism for accepting an advisory role with the largest gambling operator in the local market, Flutter Entertainment.

The good thing in Watson’s case was the fact that at the time he accepted the job at Flutter Entertainment he was no longer a Member of Parliament, while both Robertson and Davies remain in their governmental roles.

As The Guardian reported, a GVC Holdings’ spokesperson revealed that Philip Davies was no longer working for the gambling operator. They explained that Mr Davies had an advisory function regarding some customer protection and safer gambling initiatives – a role which, given his background in the industry, had provided GVC with some useful insight and valuable perspective.

On the other hand, a spokesperson for the BGC referred to Mr Robertson’s years of experience and knowledge of sport and safer gambling, including his membership of a number of cross-party groups on gambling. The representative of the gambling sector’s trade body said he was a strong advocate of significant changes in the gambling sector.

  • Author

Daniel Williams

Daniel Williams has started his writing career as a freelance author at a local paper media. After working there for a couple of years and writing on various topics, he found his interest for the gambling industry.
Daniel Williams
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