How the gambling industry buys friends in Parliament
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The long-awaited Gambling Act Review ‘white paper’ is due to land in the coming months, and it promises to bring our outdated, analogue gambling laws into the digital age. Online gambling has accelerated the growth of a sector that has benefited as much as any other from the dawn of smartphones, which have effectively put a high-stakes casino in everyone’s pocket.
But unlike a casino or a betting shop, where the maximum stakes on slots are capped, there are no limits to stakes online. However, there is overwhelming public consensus in rectifying inconsistencies like this, such as by capping online slots at £2 a spin.
Other proposals that share similar levels of support are restrictions on advertising, proper affordability checks when deposits exceed £100 a month, and more funding for treatment and research through an independently administered industry levy. Support for these policies cuts across demographics, whether leave or remain, red wall, Tory or Labour. But what will have alarmed the gambling industry the most is MPs from all political parties backing the gambling reform agenda.
So it’s no surprise that the gambling industry has splashed out more than £100k on MP freebies in the last 6 months alone. Tickets to the races, the cricket, Wimbledon, England Euros matches, and exclusive award ceremonies are among the benefits granted to MPs. Many of whom have been happy to make representations in Parliament in the interests of a sector resistant to meaningful reform.
Scott Benton, MP for Blackpool South, has been in receipt of over £7,500 worth of gambling industry hospitality in the last 6 months alone, including two England Euros matches. Benton chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Betting and Gaming (APPGBG), which includes among its Vice Chairs Aaron Bell MP, himself another lucky recipient of over £5,500 worth of gambling industry hospitality in the last 6 months.
Labour MP John Spellar has had more than £2,500 worth of tickets in the same period, although he recently resigned from his position as Vice Chair of APPGBG, along with Labour MP Conor McGinn (another £2,500 worth of tickets), after the group’s publication of a controversial report that took aim at the regulator, the Gambling Commission, for trying to reduce problem gambling.
Former Chair of APPGBG, Tory MP Laurence Robertson, has had over £10,000 worth of hospitality from the gambling industry. And along with fellow Tory MP Philip Davies (another £8,500 of hospitality), as well as enjoying these freebies they were each put on gambling industry retainers worth tens of thousands of pounds a year. Davies billed for 124 hours of work for Entain at a rate of £403 per hour.
When a sector is facing significant reform, this looks like a case of ‘how to buy a few friends in Parliament while alienating everyone else’. The timing for such frivolity is not a coincidence given the government is in the middle of reviewing our gambling laws. But legislators should think twice about accepting hospitality from a sector that derives the majority of its profits from people experiencing harm.
Between 60 and 85 per cent of profits from online gambling come from those either deemed problem gamblers or at risk. So, any new regulations designed to reduce gambling related harm will also reduce the sector’s profits, at the very least in the short term. For a sector like online gambling that generates £6 billion a year in gross revenue – half of which is coming from slots – £100k in 6 months is a small price to pay for some advocacy. Thankfully, so far, the friends the gambling industry has bought are massively outnumbered.
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