This week, ministers in the UK are expected to take into consideration the long-discussed ban on gambling companies’ sponsorship agreements with professional sports clubs in a long-awaited review of gambling legislation.
The ban on gambling sponsorship deals and the removal of betting companies’ logos from football clubs’ shirts has been one of the most controversial measures that are to be discussed in the review of the country’s 2005 Gambling Act, which is aimed at ensuring better consumer protection across the UK gambling industry and making the sector more up to date with the constantly changing environment in an age that is getting increasingly digitalised.
In addition, as part of the review, local legislators will also consider whether gambling operators in the UK should be required to adopt a limit on their customers’ monthly loss or carry out stricter affordability checks in order to prevent gamblers from spending more than they can actually afford to.
The long-awaited review of the 2005 Gambling Act is to be headed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). As part of the measures that will be considered, Ministers will also discuss the potential adoption on a levy on the industry that would ensure that part of the sector’s revenue would be spent on studying, prevention and treatment of problem gambling. Currently, there is such a levy but it is only a voluntary one.
Currently, there are about 430,000 gambling addicts in the UK. According to research, men are about 5 times more likely to become problem gamblers than women, and they are also more likely to be unemployed at the time. The largest group of problem gamblers is usually constituted by young men between the age of 25 and 34.
Gambling Act’s Review Could Bring Serious Overhaul to the UK Gambling Sector
As mentioned above, the UK Government is set to start the review with a call for evidence from all interested parties later this week. The review could lead to the largest overhaul the country’s gambling sector has seen since gambling laws were actually passed by the Government of Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2005.
The sports minister Nigel Huddleston is the one who will oversee the review. He has shared he hoped that the right balance between protecting the most vulnerable members of society and respecting the rights of the rest of the British gamblers would be found. He also highlighted how important it is for the Government to listen to the gambling sector’s opponents, too.
For quite a while, anti-gambling campaigners have been calling for stricter measures to be imposed on the industry as an increasing number of people starts gambling online. The overall amount lost by British gamblers in the year that ended in March 2019 is estimated at £14.4 billion.
- Author
Daniel Williams
