Just When the Gambling Industry Thought They Were Safe...

Just when the gambling industry thought that they had finished with all the surveys and consultations, safe in the knowledge that it led to a white paper they could work with, fresh calls are being made to scrap the previous Conservative government’s decision not to strengthen restrictions on the industry.  

The news will come as a blow for land-based casinos and online casinos as well as numerous other gambling outlets if politicians buckle under the pressure, which is mounting from campaign groups urging Labour to impose stricter controls on gambling ads.

Labour Manifesto was Scant on Detail on Gambling 

The new Labour Government did not include a great deal of detail on their plans for the gambling industry in their election manifesto, and it was relatively safe to say that the huge amount of work completed by regulators, ministers, gambling industry leaders, and ministers from the previous government was about to manifest in a white paper, which worked for all concerned.

It now transpires that Labour ministers are under pressure from politicians, campaigners, and figures from the world of football to impose stricter regulation on gambling advertising, particularly around sport.  

Summit Hears Calls for Even More Restrictions 

A recent summit convened by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Foster, chair of Peers for Gambling Reform, at a venue close to Westminster saw experts call on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to impose stricter controls on the marketing of gambling. The calls are being made to protect vulnerable adults and children even though the existing regulations are, in many ways, according to the industry, more than adequate to achieve this goal. 

The Liberal Democrat peer said it was “bizarre” that the previous government had not addressed gambling advertising in a white paper on regulatory reform, published last year.  

The last Labour government of 2005 under Tony Blair revised the UK’s laws on gambling and removed restrictions on advertising. This was before the massive rise of the smartphones, which beamed an uncensored supply of advertisements to anyone owning a device.

Former Conservative Leader Calls for Outlawing of Incentives and Inducements to Gamble 

A strong supporter from the anti-gambling lobby, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, spoke at the event and cited a survey, which claims that most of the public supports banning gambling ads all together.

The former leader said: “Politicians need to find their way towards the public on this. It’s clear and obvious what can be done and what should be done.” 

Among the calls made by Mr. Smith were for the new Labour government to outlaw incentives and inducements to gamble, such as “free” bets.

He went on to urge ministers to restrict gambling advertising in sport, banning sponsorship on football kits and betting ads in and around stadiums. There are plans to prohibit gambling ads on the front of premier league clubs’ shirts by the end of 2026, but Mr. Smith wanted this to go further and be applied to the rest of the shirt, pitchside hoardings, or clubs outside of the Premier League. 

Liverpool FC, for example, recently teamed up with Ladbrokes ahead of the 2026 prohibition, and while there are plans to prohibit gambling ads on the front of Premier League clubs' shirts by the end of 2026, Mr. Smith wanted this to go further and be applied to the rest of the shirt, pitchside hoardings, or clubs outside of the Premier League.

Lower League Club Supporters Need Protection Too 

It was a point hammered home by the former chief executive of the Football Association and chair of Tranmere Rovers, Mark Palios.

“Do they not think that children who support lower league clubs are as important as children who support Premier League clubs?” Palios asked.

There have also been calls for a pre-9 p.m. ban on betting and casino advertising, a policy that has the backing of GambleAware, the UK’s leading gambling charity.