Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 13
Publish detailed timetable for delivery of Gambling White Paper proposals and legislation.
Recommendation
It is welcome that the Government and Gambling Commission are proceeding with the various consultations on the White Paper at pace, but delivering its main proposals by summer next year will be challenging and at risk from wider political events. We are concerned that no mention of gambling legislation was made in the King’s Speech. In its response to this report, the Government must set out a detailed timetable for the delivery of the White Paper’s proposals, including when relevant primary legislation will be introduced to Parliament.
Government Response Summary
The government did not provide a detailed timetable for the delivery of the White Paper's proposals or the introduction of primary legislation, instead explaining its chosen implementation approach via existing powers and secondary legislation.
Paragraph Reference:
13
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The Government’s white paper set out 62 specific policy proposals for the Government, the Gambling Commission, and the gambling industry to take forward in order to implement the reform of gambling regulation. As the Committee recognises, the Government and the Gambling Commission are working at pace to deliver the main proposals by summer 2024. The Government and the Gambling Commission are of the view that the new protections need to be in force quickly. This is why we took the decision to implement the proposals through a range of vehicles, including utilising existing powers, laying secondary legislation and encouraging industry-wide voluntary action. This enabled us and the Gambling Commission to enact reforms quickly rather than relying on parliamentary time for a Bill to cover all measures. We are working at pace to bring secondary legislation into force as soon as parliamentary time allows. It is important to note that 14 measures in the white paper will require primary legislation to fully implement, although where possible, such as with our measures on the age limits for society lotteries and football pools, we are addressing through voluntary action ahead of legislation. In the absence of a standalone gambling bill, we have also used other primary legislation where relevant, such as the introduction of new powers for the Gambling Commission to tackle the black market.