Father Ted moment for MPs as anti-gambling groups trot out old bugbear again

In the absence of any white smoke from the British government about its gambling review, those on all sides of the debate have had the chance to make their arguments all over again in a separate inquiry into gambling regulation, submissions for which were published last week.

There will have been some who would not necessarily have welcomed the opportunity given everything else that is going on in the sphere of regulation, and the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee which announced the call for evidence in December may have slight regrets too, given the opposing and often contradictory evidence that it will have to navigate its way through.

The inquiry was launched to investigate the progress made by the government in addressing the issues raised in parliament about gambling, how to ensure regulation keeps up with innovations in online gambling, and the links between gambling, broadcasting and sport.