Chair of BGC on Media Misinformation, Snobbery and Anti-Gambling Lobby

_{BGC Chair Michael Dugher delivers a powerful speech on the evolving landscape of UK gambling regulation. (Image: BGC)}

Michael Dugher delivered a keynote speech at the AGM of the Betting and Gaming Council. It was his first AGM as the BGC’s recently appointed chair. He began by thanking all members for showing their confidence in him. He also paid a special tribute to the new CEO, Grainne Hurst.  

He said: “Grainne Hurst has proven to be an outstanding chief executive. She’s doing a fantastic job. She is genuinely bringing new ideas, fresh enthusiasm and expertise and a passion for the industry that is already making a difference.”

The chair said he wanted to use his speech to reflect on the last five years since he was appointed as the first CEO of the BGC, to consider where he thought they would find themselves today, and to look at the challenges they will face over the next five years, balancing between responsible gambling and the burgeoning online casino market

Mr Dugher paid tribute to the extraordinary men and women who work in the gambling industry. He said they had come together to help the government reshape the regulation of the industry in the review that eventually led to the White Paper. He said, “We came together to make a difference, and I think we were successful in that.”

Decision Of BGC to Embrace Change Five Years Ago Pivotal 

Mr Dugher suggested that if the BGC hadn't collaborated with the government and organised themselves five years ago, their White Paper might have been significantly different and more robust. He said: “Embracing standards in safer gambling has been absolutely critical to that success and to be successful, we needed to own the change and own the future.

“That camping on the status quo was a disaster for the industry in the past, as was the notion that certain sectors of our industry could just keep their heads down and hope that the crocodile wouldn't get around to eating them. 

“Owning the change and owning the future with standards and safer gambling at the heart of everything we do has worked for us and will work again.” 

BGC Working Closely with Government on Improvements Within Gambling Industry  

Speaking about the BGC’s work with the newly elected Labour government, Mr Dugher said that the BGC recently published their code handbook, which includes 100 voluntary measures and aims to ensure that the BGC is fulfilling its commitment to raising standards. 

He said: “Our ongoing commitment to standards is the permission we need to be heard. We are today working with the new government on the implementation of the White Paper. In their manifesto before the general election, they committed, rightly, to tackling harm, an objective we all share, but they also committed to working with the industry. A commitment that I don't think would have been made five years ago. 

_{Former MP suggests gambling reform is not a priority for most politicians, despite campaigners' concerns. (Image: BGC)}

“Thanks to the work of the BGC, our industry has enhanced its reputation as a world leader, driven up standards across the board and championed the sector through the rigours of the once-in-a-generation review of gambling legislation. That work goes on, but we are better placed and better prepared for the future than ever before.

Misinformation and Snobbery Rife 

Mr Dugher then focused on the area of misinformation in the media and anti-gambling lobby groups. He said: “There is, as Grainne mentioned, a huge amount of misinformation, prejudice, ignorance, and, frankly, snobbery when it comes to gambling in some sections of the media and, sadly, in my former place of work in Parliament.

“Most MPs and peers are actually not particularly interested in gambling. They've frankly got more important things to be worried about. The seven years I was in Parliament, nobody ever raised with me on the doorstep the issue of gambling. Now that doesn't mean that the issue is unimportant, but it may indicate that this is not the public policy emergency some hysterical campaigners claim.”

The Chair of the BGC said that the BGC knows that each month 22 and a half million people in Britain enjoy a bet, playing the lottery, land-based casinos, bingo halls and online and that the overwhelming majority do so perfectly, safely and responsibly. 

He stated, "Approximately half of the adult population in the country participates in a wide variety of online sports and games each month." I'm uncertain, but I'm willing to speculate that approximately half of all Members of Parliament and their peers do not engage in betting activities each month.

“I'm not saying that as a criticism, but by definition, our representatives are decidedly unrepresentative on this particular issue. Over the last five years, I've worked with seven ministers for gambling and six secretaries of state. Of all of those, I'm pretty sure that almost all of them didn't have a bet on a monthly basis. Most of them, I guess, never made a bet. That’s OK; it's not compulsory, and I say it not as a criticism but as an observation of fact.

“There's an old joke in government that everyone thinks they're an expert on education because they went to school. I sometimes think in politics, people who talk as though they're experts on gambling do so even though they've never actually had a bet.” 

Political Scandals and Not How Gambling Works 

Mr Dugher touched on some of the more illicit political scandals of recent years involving MPs and gambling, quite notably betting on the outcome of the last general election. 

He said, “We did find out that some MPs do enjoy a bet, like on when the next general election will be, though it seems they only had a bet if they already knew the outcome." 

The Chair also joked about MPs thinking ACCA was a trade union and that someone replied, ‘they’d think a Yankee is someone who won the American Civil War.’  

Mr Dugher said he was going to give a recent example of something an MP actually said in the House of Commons. He said that Cameron Thomas, the new MP for Tewkesbury/Cheltenham, who described himself in the House recently as a horse racing sceptic, said, ‘I consider myself a horse racing sceptic, but as the Member of Parliament for Cheltenham Racecourse, I must take a nuanced position. Gambling is not symbiotic with sport.”

Mr Dugher said that he was not seeking to make a political point but rather stating a fact. He said: “The relationship between gambling and horse racing is literally symbiotic. Has he got any idea how horse racing is actually funded? And that's before we get into the fact that the Cheltenham Festival alone is worth an estimated £274 million to the local economy. 

“When I was the MP for Barnsley, I wish someone had put a racecourse there and given me the Cheltenham Festival. You know, if he ever wants to do a swap, we can definitely work something out. I'm sure the Minister for Sports, Stephanie Peacock, would be more than welcome to have those conversations. But what an extraordinary and also illustrative thing for a local MP to say.” 

Swipe at Anti-Gambling Lobby 

The Chair of the BGC also highlighted recent comments by Public Health Scotland, which condemned successive governments for framing gambling as a normal, socially acceptable leisure activity that people choose to take part in.   

Mr Dugher said: “I'm very proud to say that gambling absolutely is a normal, socially acceptable leisure activity that millions of people choose to take part in. But what complete snobbery – the football, a day at the races, a trip to the bingo, a night out at a casino – these have been part of our cultural heritage in this country for decades.” 

Greyhound racing has been in the news lately, with the Welsh government proposing to ban the sport in Wales. Mr Dugher took aim at that proposal, saying, "I'll tell you what else is also an important part of our cultural heritage, particularly in some working-class communities, like the one in South Yorkshire where I grew up, and that's greyhound racing."

“Yet we see a proposal from the Welsh Government to ban the sport. I've been out of the political game for a few years, seven years. But let me just offer a little gentle, comradely advice to some of my former colleagues, as an ex-vice chair of the Labour Party and a former shadow secretary.  

“In the battle for working-class votes in Wales or in any part of the UK, it might not be such a fantastic idea to provide open goals for the culture warriors trying, unfairly, in my view, to portray Labour as a party that has lost touch with working-class people. 

"Millions of working-class people enjoy a bet. It's their money. They earned it. They work hard. They look after their families; they pay their tax, and they won't thank any politician who interferes or looks down their nose or what they like to do with their money.”

Making a Case for Gambling Industry’s Part in Growth Economy  

Mr Dugher said he agreed with Baroness Twycross's ministerial colleague DCMS, Chris Bryant, when he talked about growth. He said, “Another chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said that when we say that growth is the number one mission of this government, we mean it. 

The BGC represents over 90% of the regulated industry. Including bookmakers on hard-pressed high streets, the land-based and online bingo operators and casinos in our towns are vital pillars of entertainment, leisure, and tourism; they are also world-leading tech powerhouses in online betting and gaming. 

“Right now, BGC members contribute £6.8 billion to the economy, generate £4 billion in tax, and support 109,000 jobs. And it doesn't stop there. It pours millions into the country's most popular sports with vital funding for advertising and sponsorship.

“We want to play our part in the government's growth agenda. We're told by the Treasury that the growth agenda applies to every government department and every industry and every sector, which is great to hear.

“The industry needs certainty to plan and invest. It needs a stable, balanced, and proportionate evidence-driven regulatory tax framework that incentivises investment and doesn't drive customers into the hands of the unregulated. No government can take this industry for granted. If it wants to maintain the UK’s position as a world leader in betting and gaming, it has to support the industry. 

Having to Say No to Anti-Gambling Lobby  

The chair of the BGC took a swipe at the anti-gambling lobby and questioned some of their stance in light of the need for economic growth in the UK.

He said: “You need to think through the things you do in terms of managing that change and managing future regulation. It means, I'm afraid, having to say no to the anti-gambling prohibitionists who just want to ban stuff because they don't like it.

It means understanding that the industry can and wants to play its part in the growth agenda. But all ministers have to consider the impact of the decisions they take. That is a huge responsibility, and I personally think we are very fortunate as an industry to have, as our minister, Baroness Fiona Twycross. 

_{Michael Dugher praised Baroness Fiona Twycross, who also spoke at the event. (Image: BGC)}

Referring to the new CEO of the BGC, Mr Dugher said: “Grainne and I have worked very closely with her since she was appointed last year. It's not an easy brief. It's fair to say you don't have many friends in the job. But there are two things that we ask. The 1st is that decisions are genuinely evidence-led. 

"There is often more heat than light in debates about gambling. The Baroness will know this better than anyone, having to do so many of them in the House of Lords.

“There's also considerable misinformation and misreporting. There are tonnes of dodgy stats, surveys pretending to be facts, and anti-gambling campaigning masquerading as research.  

The second thing we ask is that the government keep its manifesto promise to work with the industry. Again, we cannot fault the minister in this regard; within a few weeks of her appointment. Baroness Twycross at the dinner at the Labour Party conference. 

"She met the staff who work in the industry when she visited the Grosvenor Casino in Liverpool and the Hippodrome, and I know she has many more visits. 

Mr Dugher concluded by saying: “Grainne and I have had a number of really useful meetings with her under officials at DCMS, and we are extremely grateful for her continued and meaningful engagement. It’s in that spirit that she has given up her valuable time to be with us at the AGM today.

Minister, we are extremely grateful for you being here today. We look forward to hearing what you have to say. Today it is a tough job. You do it extremely well. Sometimes it is a thankless job, but you certainly have our thanks.”