Tim Miller, the Executive Director of the UK Gambling Commission (UGKC) has shared his views on local authorities’ role in gambling regulation amid a debate which has now even got the Prime Minister involved.

Yesterday, (3 September), Miller spoke to the Peers for Gambling Reform (PGR), one of the most vocal legislative groups calling for gambling law reform in the UK, the other being the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform (APPG) in the House of Commons.

Miller emphasised the importance of effective measures in a speech to assemble Lords this week – perhaps offering some words of caution. Amid calls for further reform, the UK may be cautious, as it is still in the process of overseeing the industry’s adjustment to the Gambling Act review, a process which itself took two-and-a-half years. 

“I sometimes worry that the public policy debate around gambling spends a lot of time trying to generate, and campaign on, new ideas yet gives limited attention to ensuring and assessing the effectiveness of those ideas once they are put into practice,” he said.

Made of Peers of the House of Lords, the PGR is one of several voices calling for another look at British gambling regulation. Another is of course the APPG, as mentioned above, while earlier this year a group of 38 local governments, including the Mayor of Greater Manchester, signed an open letter calling for more powers around gambling for local authorities.

Miller shared with the PGR that the Commission has also been receiving calls to take on a greater role in inspecting individual gambling premises. He remarked that the 2005 Gambling Act ‘was and remains very clear on this’.

“The power to grant premises licences sits with local authorities in their role as licensing authorities,” Miller said. “It also made clear that any licence fees they charge must be used solely for the purpose of their local regulatory activities, which includes premises inspections. 

“And there was a clear statutory logic to this. As a fairly small regulator based in Birmingham, the Gambling Commission is not in a position to police every gambling establishment up and down the nations of Britain.”

Do councils want more powers or not?

Miller did not make any comments on the debate around powers for local councils. This is a debate that has escalated, driven first by the open letter from council leaders and picked up by Labours MPs such as Dawn Butler, the representative for Brent East in the House of Commons.

During Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Butler asked Keir Starmer whether the government was going to take another look at the ‘aim to permit’ remit of the Gambling Act, which critics believe favours companies applying for a local licence and permit. 

Starmer told Butler that the government “will give councils stronger powers over the location and numbers of gambling outlets to help create safe, thriving, high streets.”

However, according to Miller, local councils already have some powers, and it seems that some are trying to pass inspection duties onto the UKGC  – though it is unclear whether any of these will be any of the 38 which signed the open letter, and given that there are over 300 local councils in England and Wales the odds are against this being the case.

“It is certainly the case that we must and do provide robust oversight of the licensed entities that operate those premises,” Miller said.

“It is also the case that we provide appropriate guidance to local authorities and work in close partnership with them to aid the exercise of their functions under the Gambling Act. We value our relationship with local authorities as our co-regulators. 

“But it can not be the role of the national regulator to fill any gaps left in local regulation when less than half of licensing authorities are conducting any premises inspections, that the licensing fee funds them to perform.”

UKGC’s mission unwavering says Miller

Retail betting is not the only gaming segment in reform advocates crosshairs, however. The online sector has always been the main target, unsurprisingly given how much gross gaming yield it generates in each UKGC update, especially relative to the retail sector.

The Commons APPG, led by veteran Conservative Ian Dunacn Smith although mainly consisting of Labour backbench MPs, argues that more needs to be done to make gambling fit for the digital age.

Some members of the PGR, such as Lord Foster of Bath, have been particularly vocal on advertising, while Lord Foster’s fellow Liberal Democrat peer, although not a member of PGR, also attempted to write amendments effectively banning betting sponsorship into the Football Governance Bill.

In his speech, Miller seemed to caution against politicians rushing into a new reform campaign. As noted earlier in this article, he seems to be of the opinion that attention needs to be given to ensuring reforms which have already been tabled are being done so effectively before any new measures are considered.

“And so, I am unapologetic in saying that the Commission must and will remain focussed on delivering the already considerable statutory roles that Parliament gave to us,” he said.

“We are equally committed to remaining focussed on playing our part in implementing the Gambling Act Review White Paper, as quickly and efficiently as possible and then evaluating its effectiveness. 

“This will then provide a strong evidence base to inform any discussions that there may be in the future about potential further reforms.”

The divergence of views on gambling policy is getting wider and wider, it seems. Councils cannot seem to agree on whether they want more powers or whether they want the Gambling Commission to take on a bigger local role.

__

September 15 will see SBC organise a groundbreaking charity football event in Lisbon. Make sure you get the chance to see some of the most legendary names in football by securing your ticket today at https://www.legendscharitygame.com/