As the UK government prepares to release the white paper on the review of the current gambling act, Michael Dugher CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said the gambling review “must not take all the joy out of life” in a report by The Times.
Cheltenham Festival 2022
In relation to the huge success of the Cheltenham Festival 2022 where nearly 280,000 people attended the four-day event, and the millions watching the festival on TV enjoyed placing a bet on the racing throughout the week.Mr Dugher said, “This is great news for the racing industry but it should also give ministers, currently poring over the finer details of the gambling review, a reason to pause and think.“Betting and racing are joined at the hip. Betting provides racing with £350m a year. This lifeblood funding kept the sport and tens of thousands of jobs, especially in rural areas during the pandemic. Many other sports are helped by the link to betting.”Many lobbyist groups and some parliamentary members are hell-bent on destroying the gambling industry over a minority of people who have fallen into the trap of gambling addictions.
Positive Figures
Mr Dugher summarised the sheer volume of attendees at the four-day event coupled with the latest Gambling Commission figures will be disappointing reading to those who are against gambling.The latest figures show a decline from 0.6% to 0.3% in gambling-related problems over the past 18 months, a reduction from 340,000 to 170,000.The BGC members generate 119,000 jobs, pay £4.5bn in taxes and £7.7bn to the economy. Although regulations do need to be reviewed regularly, draconian measures stipulated by anti-gambling groups could destroy the industry. Mr. Dugher warned decisions made regarding such strict measures could irreparably damage the gambling sector, a business where the majority of people partake in a sensible manner.