The Betting and Gaming Council of the U.K. (BGC) has endorsed the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) modernization scheme for brick-and-mortar casinos and calls for no delays in implementing them, Yogonet reported May 17.
Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society Stuart Andrew MP made the proposals in a Written Ministerial Statement. He said, “As set out in the Gambling Act Review white paper, the measures we consulted on are therefore necessary to modernize the outdated and overly restrictive regulations that apply to the land-based gambling sector.”
The BGC said in a statement that the DCMS’s white paper-proposals for land-based gaming was “a host of modest, but mission critical, modernization measures.”
These measures include allowing cashless payments and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting.
The council said it also approves of the proposal for the Gambling Commission to hold a consultation on player protection measures that need to accompany allowing debit card payments on slot machines.
BGC CEO and Acting Chairman Michael Dugher said in a statement:
“Casinos are a vital pillar of the UK’s leisure, hospitality and tourism sector and we welcome the Government’s consultation response, which is positive progress on the modest, long-overdue but mission-critical modernization reforms needed for the land-based casino sector to compete and thrive.”
He continued, “Much-needed reforms on cashless payments, gaming machine allocations and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting will strengthen the sector to better meet the needs and expectations of their customers. While we welcome these proposals, attention must now shift to the timeline for implementing policy changes and we urge the Government to urgently set out a clear timeline for progressing the relevant legislation to make them reality for our members.”
The CEO pointed out that many casinos were closed due to the pandemic and blamed succeeding administrations for not providing the changes needed to protect gaming jobs.
