Labour’s Manifesto Fails to Address Gambling Industry Reforms

A July 4^th election could signal changes within the gambling industry, inclusive of land-based casinos and casino sites, as the reforms set out and worked on by the Conservative led UK Government are likely to be finalised by a victorious Labour Party. 

If the pundits shouting the odds are to be believed, that is.  

Rarely has there been a time when the politics of the main opposition parties at Westminster are so closely aligned. It is hard for anyone to tell what the difference between Conservative and Labour politics is.

Are Concerns Over Different Government Justified? 

There may be justified concerns over an incoming Labour Government. 

On July 4^th the nation will go to the polls and if all is fair and square the UK population should be welcoming a new Prime Minister soon after or if it all goes against the odds, they may be looking at Rishi Sunak walking back in to Downing Street.  

The polls have put Labour ahead and there is talk of a landslide victory. 

Keir Starmer will have his hands full with the amount of work ahead and his Ministers will be keen to get to grips with changes to be made within the gambling industry. 

But what might these changes look like? 

The Blair Era Signalled Changes to Come 

It was Labour’s Tony Blair who liberalised the industry with the new gambling laws of 2005 and it was Gordon Brown’s 2007 scrapping of super-casinos, that were labelled as “the worst form of puritanism” by Tony Blair in his memoir. 

If we look at the promises made during the 2019 election, Labour vowed to treat problem gambling as a public health issue as well as pledging to introduce a new gambling act "fit for the digital age". 

As we know Corbyn lost, and the rest is history.  

What’s in the Labour Manifesto 2024? 

We won’t bore you with the details of Labour’s 5 missions. Sticking to the industry we can say having read the latest version that there is nothing in the current Labour Manifesto, which addresses the Gambling Industry. 

There may be updates in due course but as it stands it does not look like anything new is planned. That is not to say that a white rabbit (paper) may not be pulled out of the hat at the eleventh hour. 

Starmer has previously suggested in 2023 that he would tighten regulations.  

Will Labour Rehash 2023 White Paper for the Digital Age? 

There was a white paper ‘High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age,' which aimed to address gaps in Tony Blair’s Labour government’s 2005 Gambling Act. 

Essentially, there is a belief that the current act is inadequate because we now have round-the-clock access to online gambling. 

The only real clue to what lies ahead is this Labour White Paper published in April 2023, much of which has been written about on. 

What Were the Main Changes Set Out in the White Paper?  

• An expectation that gambling businesses will be required to pay a levy that will be used to fund education, research, and training in the NHS to help gambling addicts 
• Affordability checks with betting businesses required to consider whether a customer’s gambling is likely to be unaffordable or harmful 
• Proposals in place to limit stakes based on age  
• Customers under 25 years old would be unable to bet more than £2 per spin on slot machines 
• Older customers would be limited to £15 per spin 
• Gambling adverts must avoid children 
• Premier League clubs will no longer showcase gambling sponsors on the front of shirts 
• 20% of gambling adverts set to focus on safe messaging 

None of the above is set in stone and there is nothing in Labour’s posturing for votes that gives any indication that these changes are imminent. 

Any of these changes could be possible under a Labour or Conservative government. 

What the framework for change does is give Labour an opportunity to hit the ground running and push through their plans in the noise following what would be the first time the nation voted for their Prime Minister since 2019, making it the 4^th Prime Minister in 5 years. 

Nobody gave great odds on that.