For UK casinos to thrive, reforms must come soon
Outdated regulations are holding back UK casinos. As competition from online and offshore operators grows, urgent legislative action is needed to modernise and protect the industry’s economic contribution.
All industries must move at pace if they are to meet customer demand, and stay relevant. Technology has driven this process of change over the past decade faster than ever before, and across the breadth of the economy, including for regulated betting and gaming businesses, and casinos. While once, government ministers might have previously focused on the customer experience within regulating gambling businesses, there will be increasing concern about the impact of unregulated offshore and online providers. There is a danger that right now bricks and mortar casinos, often the gambling environment with the greatest level of oversight, are being hampered by outdated regulations written for a different era and squeezed by the growth of online betting and gaming. It is necessary for this to be urgently addressed.
Casinos are a vital pillar of the UK’s leisure, hospitality, and tourism sector, they currently employ more than 10,000 people, contribute £300m annually in tax and generate an estimated £800m a year to the UK economy. In London alone, they deliver an additional £100m to the capital’s economy. This is a vital component of a wider sector, delivering real economic success. The regulated betting and gaming industry, including the land-based, makes a huge economic contribution throughout the UK. According to industry trade body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), its members support 110,000 jobs, generate £4.2bn in tax and contribute £7.1bn to the economy.
During my time as a member and then Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, I had the pleasure of visiting a number of casinos and other regulated gambling businesses. I also served as Minister of Gambling in 2022, during the government’s consideration of the Gambling White Paper. From that experience I could see that many casinos were closing due to a range of factors. As a result, I know the BGC and its casino members have been campaigning for new measures for years to allow businesses to modernise, innovate and grow.
Proposals outlined by my former department, in the Gambling White Paper consultation response on land-based betting and gaming, included a host of modest, but mission critical, modernisation measures for casinos. These changes include the introduction of cashless payments (a necessary reform as we increasingly move towards a cashless society), new rules on gaming machines allocations and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting for the first time. Many of these changes are just playing catch-up with casinos elsewhere in the world and are incredibly important to making casinos more modern and appealing.
These measures were needed in order for British casinos to be able to thrive domestically and compete with their international competitors around the world. Casinos have changed so much in recent years with many now offering top quality dining, drinking and sports screening experiences. These proposed changes would allow them to adapt further to offer a full, modern entertainment experience. I was pleased to see that these changes were welcomed and accepted on a cross party basis and I know many casino operators had started to prepare for their implementation in early October. However the General Election delayed these plans. This includes a large amount of spending on both new machines and the required infrastructure to support them.
The Labour government must now get on with implementing these much needed changes as the casino industry cannot afford to wait any longer. The uncertainty is a major blow for an industry that is already struggling to get back on its feet after the really tough few years they encountered during Covid. I would urge the Government to set out a clear timeline for progressing the relevant legislation to make these changes a reality for the thousands of people employed in casinos up and down the country. If they do not, our casinos will lose pace in the race to stay relevant. If that happens, the winners will not be British punters, but the unregulated international online gambling markets.
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