Written by Jon Bryan | Expected reading time 5 minutes
Last Updated: July 24, 2026
Written by Jon Bryan
Jon Bryan, writing for SlotsHawk, looks at what a new Prime Minister might mean for the gambling sector.
ANDY BURNHAM
Following weeks of certainty, Andy Burnham is now the new UK Prime Minister, following what might be called a bloodless coup. The whole process has been a strange experience, but now we know that the so-called ‘King of the North’ is also the Head of Number 10 Downing Street. We can start to think about what a premiership led by Andy Burnham might look like.
There are things about his past and previous ideas which give an indication what he will do when it comes to gambling policy, but lets start with something that he has already said will be a policy proposal from the last government that he is tearing up.
NO MORE NANNY STATE?
There has already been an indication from the Burnham camp that he will scrap the digital ID scheme, which Labour Deputy Leader, Lucy Powell, has confirmed to us via Sky News. This saves just under £2 billion, but there is a question as to whether this is a measure to simply save money, or if it indicates a change in policy reflecting something wider about the thinking of our new Prime Minister.
Chris Fawcett, a sports and market modeller, asks whether this is an indication of a wider philosophy of stopping ‘intrusive nanny state measures’ that no-one wants. Thinking more broadly about gambling policy, he speculates whether Burnham will “scrap gambling financial risk assessments (affordability checks) as well?”
With so much opposition to what is going on about affordability checks, which I spoke about recently here, it is an opportunity for the new Prime Minister to look again at this issue.
ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP
In recent years, Burnham has come out against both the advertising of gambling, and sponsorship of sports by gambling companies. Whether he continues with this idea when he leads the whole government is something that only time will tell. But doing so will have its consequences. Let’s first consider gambling sponsorship of sports. It’s worth looking at some of the impacts of gambling sponsorship, as outlined by the Betting and Gaming Council in this next section:
Gambling sponsorship of sport can deliver real public benefit when done responsibly:
- Paddy Power’s World Darts Championship partnership with Prostate Cancer UK drove over 316,000 uses of its 30-second risk checker — now shaping Government efforts to increase screening uptake among Black men.
- Sky Bet’s partnership with the British Heart Foundation delivered CPR training to 500,000 people, using a one-minute kick-off delay across 36 EFL fixtures to highlight that ‘every minute matters’ in cardiac arrest.
- Rugby League’s governing body says betting sponsorship funds are reinvested throughout the sport; the EFL has warned that removing gambling sponsorship would be ‘catastrophic’ for many clubs.
If Burnham were to go ahead and outlaw the sponsorship of sport by gambling companies, this would have a real impact which would have several negative outcomes.
GAMBLING ADVERTS
It’s perhaps worth emphasising the regulation that already exists in the regulated gambling sector, as opposed to the unregulated sector, or black market. Gambling advertising is regulated by the Gambling Commission, the Advertising Standards Authority and Ofcom. Contrary to the idea that it is on the rise, it has been falling year on year for the past five years.
There are calls by some to totally end gambling advertising, and there could be pressure put on the Prime Minister to go down this road. There are a significant number of anti-gambling MPs and pressure groups who would welcome the censorship of the gambling industry, but there is no real evidence this would have any positive impact on society. If Burnham does go down this route, it may indicate that instead of tackling the real problems facing the UK economy and society, he is focussing on the concerns of a few zealots who simply want to have another stick to beat gamblers and the gambling industry.
EVEN MORE TAXES ON THE GAMBLING INDSUTRY?
With job losses being announced by Rank, Entain, Flutter, and others in recent weeks, it is now clear that these job cuts are a direct cause of a taxation regime introduced by the Labour government. Not content at stopping there, the Social Market Foundation want to pile up more taxes on gambling companies, which will have the impact of reducing the size of the sector. Gamblers and gambling will lose out again.
Will Burnham want to tax gambling companies even more? It might align with some of his thinking on taxation, but he must surely understand the impact that it will have. There will be several people closely watching the approach that he takes towards the economy and taxes, and where he will be pointing his finger.
WHAT NEXT?
The gambling sector is still dealing with a significant number of changes that are taking place, and there is unlikely to be much appetite for any more change. Let’s hope that Burnham starts to tackle the bigger things which need to be dealt with in society, and that he leaves us gamblers alone for a while longer.
Jon Bryan is a Gambling Writer and recreational Poker Player who writes regularly on his Substack, as well as for SlotsHawk News, which you can find here: Jon’s articles for SlotsHawk.
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