Standards body The BGC welcomes new ministers at DCMS and pledges to work together on safer gambling, boosting economic growth and support for grassroots sport
Standards body the Betting and Gaming Council has congratulated Lisa Nandy MP on becoming the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and pledged to work with her ministerial team, to grow the economy and drive up standards on safer gambling.
She is joined at DCMS by Stephanie Peacock MP, who has been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DCMS.
BGC Chair Michael Dugher welcomed both new appointments on behalf of the 110,000 people whose jobs rely on the regulated betting and gaming industry and the 22.5m who enjoy a bet each month.
He also welcomed a new announcement from Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to further invest in grassroots sports, including confirming that funding allocated to grassroots sports facilities will continue beyond April and also confirming a pilot allowing local clubs to take over their own pitches and facilities from struggling councils, will become a national programme.
It follows a commitment to ensuring sport plays a full role in local communities and our national story, while giving opportunities to young people across the country.
In her first interview as Secretary of State, Lisa Nandy told the Manchester Evening News: “For too long, too many people in many parts of the UK have not seen their lives, their families, or their communities reflected in the story that we tell ourselves as a nation about ourselves and that I think has fed this real sense of alienation from governments, this sense of anger and division.
“We found multiple ways to divide ourselves from one another in recent decades and it's been bad for our country, bad for our communities. So whether it's through investing in grassroots sport, whether it's through opening up opportunities in media, film, dance, drama to working class kids in communities like Bolton and Bury, that is going to be the mission and the work of our government.”
BGC members make huge economic investments across the nation, with nearly two thirds of industry supported jobs based outside London, including nearly 20,000 in the West Midlands alone.
BGC members have founded tech powerhouses in places like Stoke where bet365 are based and Flutter in Leeds, and support Britain’s hard pressed high streets through betting shops, as well as the hospitality and tourism sector, through casinos.
They also provide some of the country’s most popular sport with vital funding, from the grassroots to the elite level.
The Sky Bet sponsored English Football League and its clubs receive £40m, William Hill sponsors the Scottish Professional Football League, while a host of other BGC members from Betway to Kindred are supporting football and other sports.
Meanwhile, horseracing receives £350m, and snooker, darts and rugby league – which is currently sponsored by Betfred - receive more than £12.5m.
Meanwhile, BGC member Entain’s Pitching In sponsors the Trident League – 250 clubs at steps three and four of the English football pyramid – a huge boost to grassroots football. And Flutter has invested millions into a huge range of community sports through its Cash4Clubs scheme.
Lisa Nandy's Wigan constituency is also home to the headquarters of the UK Tote Group, a key stakeholder in British Racing.
Meanwhile Stephanie Peacock MP, joins DCMS with a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the regulated betting sector, having previously been Shadow Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
During that time, she has been a firm supporter of Safer Gambling Week, attended the BGC AGM this year where she gave a speech, and has also taken part in the BGC’s Grand National Charity Bet campaign, which has raised vital funds for a host of UK charities.
At the BGC’s AGM in February, Stephanie said: “Labour recognises that almost half of adults participate in some form of gambling, with the majority doing so safely and in moderation.
“From bingo to the races, many forms of gambling are rightly considered part of our British cultural tradition.
“Further to this, I know the success of the sector is vital for the economy more broadly, whether that’s betting shops, casinos, online betting and gaming or the companies that develop games.
“BGC members support over 110,000 jobs, generate billions in both GVA and taxes, and contribute to the success of many of our beloved sports through sponsorship and media rights deals.”
Our members remain committed to delivering the evidence based, proportionate proposals contained in the White Paper, which will drive up standards while putting businesses on the right regulatory footing to drive economic growth.
Those wide-ranging reforms, which will further strengthen protections, are measures both the BGC and Labour have supported.
They include a statutory levy to tackle problem gambling and gambling related harm, an Ombudsman to improve consumer redress, ensuring online checks are genuinely frictionless, non-intrusive and carefully targeted towards the vulnerable, new stake limits for online slots, a Sports Sponsorship Code and modest but mission critical modernisation proposals for the land-based casino sector.
Betting and Gaming Council Chair Michael Dugher, said: “On behalf of our members, the 110,000 people whose jobs rely on the regulated betting and gaming industry, and the 22.5 million people who enjoy a bet each month, I am delighted to welcome Lisa Nandy to her new position as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
“She has hit the ground running and, on a personal note, can I welcome her particular support to ensure DCMS supports working class communities across the country. Betting has long been a part of working class culture for many people - from bingo halls to betting shops - and our mission critical support for great traditionally working class sports like rugby league, darts, snooker and lower league football is well known.
“I would also like to congratulate Steph Peacock on her new role as Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society, who joins Lisa Nandy MP in DCMS.
“Steph already has a deep knowledge of our sector and sport, having been Shadow Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for over a year, and I look forward to continuing working together.
“Both Lisa and Steph bring a wealth of experience to their new roles, backed by Labour’s welcome commitment to work with the industry. I would like to assure them both, they will have the full support and backing of this sector as we work together to drive economic growth and continue raising standards on safer betting and gaming.
“I also welcome Lisa’s announcement to increase investment into grassroots sports and clubs, including giving clubs the opportunity to take over their own pitches and facilities, something our members care deeply about, and also invest heavily in, through charitable donations and crucial sponsorship.
“From high streets to hospitality, from tourism to tech, our members generate £4.2bn in taxes for the Treasury and contribute £7.1bn to the wider economy. This is a sector ready to contribute on growth, jobs and investment in the economy.
“We are investing in virtually every constituency in the land, particularly in sport, where our members are providing vital financial backing, and we look forward to working with the new Ministers at DCMS to drive economic growth and investment.
“BGC members are currently in the midst of the biggest regulatory changes in a generation following the publication of the White Paper, which Labour backed, and much of this work carries on now the election has been completed.
“Work on the White Paper is backed by the industry’s own significant efforts to drive world-class standards and protections for the vulnerable, which has transformed the sector in recent years and stands in marked contrast to the dangers posed by the unsafe, unregulated black market online.
"The BGC and our members remain committed to working with Labour to implement the evidence-based, proportionate, regulatory changes outlined in the White Paper, ensuring those measures get the balance right between protecting the vulnerable, while allowing the vast majority of punters who enjoy betting responsibly to continue doing so without unnecessary intrusion.”
The regulated betting and gaming industry in the UK supports 110,000 jobs, generates £4.2bn in tax and contributes £7.1bn to the economy.
Each month in Britain around 22.5m adults have a bet and the most recent NHS Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4 per cent of the adult population are problem gamblers.
