BGC Scoffs At Latest Report From House of Lords

The House of Lords has proposed a number of changes that will make a significant impact on the UK gambling industry. The proposed changes are made based on a market research carried out by Nera Economic Consulting.

Some of the changes proposed by the House of Lords include preventing gambling operators from directly sponsoring sports teams, classifying video games with loot boxes as gambling and making it mandatory for licensed gaming operators to donate a minimum amount that will be used to fund gambling research, treatment and education.

The report suggests that if the recommendations are rolled out, it would reduce the overall gross gaming profits of the industry by £974 million but this money would get redirected to different industries and in turn boost the overall economy more than the usual gambling spend.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) speaks on behalf of its members who are licensed gaming operators in the UK market. The BGC was not only critical of this report but was also very scathing of the House of Lords and its recommendations.

Michael Dugher, CEO of the BGC said that his organization was happy to see the government launch a review into the gambling industry but rubbished the findings claiming that there were nothing more than fantasy numbers and suitable only for the birds. Dugher urged the House of Lords to make quality decisions based on real numbers as making decisions based on the facts and figures present in this report will do immense damage to the industry.

The BGC chief said that anti-gambling opponents have always been against the gambling industry because they don’t like to bet. They don’t see the broader picture that everyday hard working Brits love to bet every now and then for the fun of it. They don’t have any problems with addictions and are perfectly safe with gambling and betting.

BGC Open To Working With Gov

The BGC made its stance clear that while it dismisses this report and the fantasy numbers, it is still very much in favour of working with the government and bringing about reform. Dugher pointed out that BGC members are currently spending a combined £100 million for gambling research, treatment and education while donating another £10 million to help fund the “Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention programme”