Episode 49: Wes Himes talks UK Gambling Act white paper progress

Welcome back to the World Series of Politics as Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann take a trip across the point to have Wes Himes discuss the UK Gambling Act white paper.

The Gambling Act white paper finally saw the light of day in April 2023 after a four-year process that took in three prime ministers, five culture secretaries and six gambling ministers. Since then the government has been working its way through 62 measures to overhaul UK gambling regulation, of which two-thirds have been implemented so far, Betting and Gaming Council advisor Himes explains.

The perfect storm brewing over the UK gambling market

However there are signs the illegal market is growing in strength and Himes is worried about the impact on the regulated sector, especially considering the UK’s status as a global leader in the online gambling market.

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A consultation on merging the three gambling taxes – general betting duty, pool betting duty and remote gambling duty – further exacerbates his worries for the UK gambling market. All signs point to a single, higher tax rate, leading to a perfect storm of tighter regulation and higher taxes.

Leading the charge against tighter controls

Last episode the World Series of Politics tackled the Illinois tax hike (part two), and Himes’ advice for UK gambling licensees should echo across the pond. “So my [advice] to operators is you’ve got to get your house in order,” he says.

Pull the data together, look at whether customer behaviours are changing because of the change. “That is the real story. Everything else is theory, everything else is qualitative reviews, it’s anecdotal, but the data doesn’t lie.”