Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 15
Ensure thorough White Paper consultations receive input from an appropriate range of stakeholders.
Recommendation
Though speed is a necessity, the Government and Gambling Commission must ensure that the White Paper consultations are thorough and receive input from an appropriate range of stakeholders.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the need for thorough consultations with appropriate stakeholders, noting the importance of speed in implementing new protections, and states that their ongoing consultation process has already provided invaluable evidence.
Paragraph Reference:
15
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
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 agree with the Committee on the need for thorough consultations that receive input from the appropriate stakeholders. The Government and the Gambling Commission have both emphasised the importance of robust and meaningful consultations to inform policy decisions. These consultations have helped develop understanding of the impact of proposed changes, minimising the potential for legal challenges that would delay the implementation of our important reforms and support development of evaluation approaches. We are working at pace to bring secondary legislation into force as soon as parliamentary time allows. The process of consulting on the measures set out in the white paper has provided invaluable evidence to inform policy making. These consultations ensure that the measures are robust, proportionate, and in line with the white paper’s objectives. 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.