Expected reading time 5 minutes
Last Updated: June 26, 2025
Written by Jon Bryan
As we approach the end of the first year of the Labour government, Jon Bryan offers some thoughts on politics and parliament, and what this means for the gambling industry and the gambling consumer.
THE GENERAL ELECTION OF 2024
After every general election, there’s always a change in personnel at the House of Commons, and even in the House of Lords, albeit the latter is not subject to the will of the people. For issues like gambling, this can mean a new crop of MPs coming to the fore, while others leave public office overnight. This time last year, I wrote about what we might see in a new parliament after the general election. [Spoiler: I got some things right!]
A number of those who were prominent in parliamentary gambling debates lost or left their seats, including Ronnie Cowan, Philip Davies and Conor McGinn. Among the MPs who are new to the House of Commons, we are beginning to see more from those who take a keen interest in gambling debates and policy. Alex Ballinger, Dr Beccy Cooper, and Abtisam Mohamed, are among the new MPs who have been outspoken on the issue of gambling, and I suspect that will continue.
Unfortunately, many new MPs (including those mentioned) appear to be in the camp that want to see more restrictions on gambling. There are not many in parliament who are a voice for the gambling consumer, although some are better than others.
APPGs
When it comes to influencing debates and policy about a specific issue such as gambling, parliamentarians can form an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). Those on different sides of the gambling debate have done this over the years. Debates about gambling in parliament rarely split along party lines, so you can have alliances amongst politicians that you wouldn’t expect on other issues. When it comes to making contributions in a debate about gambling, raising questions with a minister (or giving responses to both), you can find different people from across the political spectrum lining up together, on one side of the debate or the other.
Because an APPG is an informal grouping in parliament which looks at a particular issue, it will contain MPs and/or Peers from at least two different political parties. There are currently two groups in parliament which are of interest to those following political debates about gambling. One is on Gambling Reform, and the other is on Racing and Bloodstock.
The Gambling Reform APPG has already set about making it’s voice heard, and you can see some of the comments that they have made on their website for use by the media and others. For both the gambling industry and the gambling consumer, it’s difficult to be positive about what this APPG is saying.
But this month, it has been good to see the Racing and Bloodstock APPG hit the headlines with its research and report on the impact of government gambling regulations, both current and proposed. Horse racing and gambling are very much intertwined, and the report highlighted the potentially devasting impact of changing the Remote Gambling Duty. This is the issue that I wrote about recently for SlotsHawk, which continues to cause quite a stir. A new taxation regime will have a big impact on everyone associated with gambling, and it is unlikely to be a good one.
The APPG for Racing and Bloodstock are right to highlight the issue of taxation impacting on both the gambling industry and the gambling consumer, and it has generated some decent media coverage, including Greg Wood writing in The Guardian. The report also highlights the impact of Affordability Checks, which are now known as ‘financial risk checks’. The APPG states that the impact of these on the gambling industry overall has meant ‘a £1.6bn fall in betting turnover on racing’. They state this decline is due directly to government regulation:
‘The introduction of financial risk checks…are having a considerable and damaging impact…Their introduction by operators ahead of and since the publication of the 2023 Gambling White Paper has led to a £1.6bn fall in online betting turnover on racing over the last two years’.
As we can see, there are consequences to introducing new regulations on gambling, and it is important to see the impact. The APPG for Racing and Bloodstock has done that, which is useful for everyone to know.
THE GAMBLING WHITE PAPER 2023
More than two years after the publication of the Gambling White Paper, we continue to see the impact that this is having on the gambling industry and consumers. The first year of this government has picked up where the last one stopped. On the issue of gambling regulations, there is not much difference between this Labour government led by Starmer, and the Sunak-led Conservative one. It has been much of the same all through.
But the implementation of policy and regulation do not happen in a vacuum, so it will continue to be important to not only keep up with the political debates that are taking place inside parliament, but to also challenge mainstream ideas about gambling whenever the opportunity arises.
We need more people pointing out the impact of current regulations and the possible impact of future policies, both in parliament and outside of it. I’ll be speaking in London on these issues at a conference called Living Freedom later this month, and hoping to change the minds of some of those there.
Giving voice to the views and experiences of the consumer will continue to be important for the coming year in parliament, just as it will be important for gambling consumers to be represented in every area of life where gambling is being discussed. Influencing politicians is always a good thing to try and do, but try and convince your friends, neighbours and work colleagues too.
Jon Bryan is a Gambling Writer and Poker Player. His pamphlet “Risking It All: The freedom to gamble” is available to purchase or free to download. Find more of Jon’s articles for SlotsHawk.
