London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

New gambling reforms revealed - what could proposed changes mean?

New gambling reforms revealed - what could proposed changes mean?

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer says the government's plans will "force companies to step up their checks" to protect vulnerable customers.
The government has announced a raft of gambling reforms, including a new statutory levy on big firms, in a bid to crack down on online addiction.

Other measures announced by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer include maximum stakes for online slot machines and checks to "better protect even those unable to afford small losses".

What do the plans include?

• Statutory gambling levy - ensuring operators help fund treatment services and research. As things are, the amount given is not mandated and some betting firms have paid as little as £1

• New stake limits for online slot games - it will be between £2 and £15 per spin but there will be a consultation on measures to protect 18 to 24-year-olds

• Player protection checks - to safeguard those most at risk of harm before unaffordable losses are incurred

• Further Gambling Commission powers - so the regulator can tackle black market operators through court orders and with internet service providers

• Bonus offer rules - to stop them harming vulnerable people. How free bets are constructed are to be looked at and targeted

• Loopholes closed for under 18s - to ensure they cannot gamble online or through cash fruit machines

• New industry ombudsman - to deal with disputes and rule on redress where people suffer losses due to operator failings to protect players

However, a ban on gambling advertising is not included in the measures - despite the Premier League already announcing a voluntary ban on it on football shirts.

The reforms are formally set out in the government's gambling white paper published today following a series of delays.

UK bookmakers have already started to put estimates on the revenue hit they are likely to face.

Flutter Entertainment, which includes the Paddy Power and Betfair brands and has welcomed the planned shake-up, said its current view was a gross impact of between £50m-£100m per year.

Outlining the government's plans in the Commons, Ms Frazer said the white paper will "force companies to step up their checks" to protect vulnerable customers.

She told MPs: "When gambling becomes addiction, it can wreck lives. Shattered families, lost jobs, foreclosed homes, jail time, suicide.

"Gambling problems in adults have always been measured in terms of money lost, but you cannot put a cost on the loss of dignity, the loss of identity, and, in some cases, the loss of life that it can cause."

Ms Frazer said the white paper would cover six areas of reform, including affordability checks "when losses are likely to be unaffordable or harmful for punters".

She also touched on advertising, which she said saw punters "drawn back into the orbit of online companies with the offer of a free bet or some free spins".

"So, to help stop problem gamblers being bombarded, the Gambling Commission has beefed up its rules on online VIP schemes, already resulting in a 90% reduction in these schemes, and it will now consult on making sure bonus offers are not being deployed in ways which only exacerbate harm," she said.

Responding for Labour in the Commons, shadow minister Alex Davies-Jones branded the white paper "very light in substance" while also criticising the delay to its publication.

She said Labour "welcomes many of the measures in the announcement" and said it was a "move in the right direction".

However, she criticised the fact that the Premier League had voluntarily decided to ban gambling sponsorship only on the front of football shirts and argued that the measure was "weak" because it won't come into effect for three years.

She also called for clarity on the proposed levy on gambling firms and the beefing up of the gambling regulator, adding that it was "vital that affordability checks are set independently from the industry" to ensure the safety of customers.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith welcomed the white paper but said it did not go far enough to protect children from advertising.

The government has been under pressure to act following a number of cases in which people have taken their own lives over their addiction to gambling.

According to the Gambling Commission, around 138,000 people could be problem gambler, with around 1.3 million people engaging in either moderate or low-risk gambling.

Last year, the parents of Jack Ritchie, 24, accused the government of being "asleep at the wheel" in their failure to regulate an industry they described as "predatory" and "parasitic".

A landmark inquest into the suicide of Mr Ritchie found that regulation, NHS treatment and government warnings about the dangers of gambling were "woefully inadequate".

The inquest in Sheffield was the first of its kind to examine the link between suicide and gambling and the way it is regulated.

Gambling With Lives, a charity that was set up by families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, said ahead of the report's publication: "We'll welcome any positives in today's white paper, but it seems much will be pushed to consultation, meaning more delay.

"We've waited years, more than 1,000 people have died while the industry has made billions in profit from harm. We need action now to stop the deaths.

New figures show the NHS received 990 referrals for treatment between April and December 2022, compared with 668 the same period the previous year.

NHS mental health director Claire Murdoch said she was "delighted that the government has committed to tackling this cruel disease".

Peter Jackson, chief executive of Flutter Entertainment plc, said welcomed the white paper and said it was a "significant moment" for the sector.

He added: "Whilst we will need to review the detail of the proposals once published, we believe proactive change will lead to a better future for our industry."

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×