White paper could be delayed until new prime minister takes office

The will it, won't it saga of the publication of the government's gambling review white paper took another twist on Thursday as reports emerged the document could be subject to further delay.

Westminster sources said that officials at Number 10 have decided the issue should be left to the new prime minister to deal with rather than being published before parliament rises for summer recess on July 21.

However, it is understood there remains a chance that the decision could be reversed.

Asked what the latest state of play was, a spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: "We are undertaking the most comprehensive review of gambling laws in 15 years to ensure they are fit for the digital age.

"As we have said all along, we will be publishing a white paper as part of a review of gambling legislation and are planning to do so as soon as possible."

The gambling review was launched in December 2020 with a white paper setting out the government's proposals expected to be published before the end of the following year.

Although ministers at the DCMS have said the white paper would be published "in the coming weeks" for a number of months, it has continued to be delayed.

It had been expected the upheaval surrounding Boris Johnson's government would mean the white paper's publication could be delayed until this autumn, but it was also understood that the DCMS was pushing for it to be published next week, possibly as early as Tuesday.

Boris Johnson: his successor will be announced on September 5Credit: Visionhaus (Getty Images)

Johnson has said the government would not seek to implement new policies or make major changes of direction while the process of choosing a new leader for the Conservative Party was ongoing, and the white paper appears to have been caught up in that.

The news was greeted with dismay by those calling for gambling reform.

Shadow culture minister Alex Davies-Jones MP reacted to the reports by tweeting: "An absolute shambles – another day, another promise broken.

"The gambling industry needs urgent regulation, but the Tories are too busy playing politics with the future of the country. Everyone knows gambling reform is long overdue so there really is no excuse. Enough is enough."

A number of details about what is contained within the white paper have emerged in recent weeks.

Last week the Racing Post revealed the document contained proposals for enhanced affordability checks to be made on punters when they had made a net loss of £2,000 over 90 days.

The gambling industry has claimed that such proposals would wipe billions of pounds from their revenues and between £20 million and £30m from the levy if punters have to provide personal financial information such as bank statements in order to continue betting.

It is also understood the government had decided to bring forward the promised review of the levy system to this autumn from 2024, so a further delay would frustrate the hopes of British racing's leadership, who are seeking reforms which would boost the sport's income.

Further revelations have included detailed affordability checks that would take place for losses of £1,000 in 24 hours, while what have been described as 'passive' checks, which it is claimed would go unnoticed by customers, would start at £125 net loss within one month, or £500 within a year.

They would be carried out by credit reference agencies looking for issues such as county court judgements. Industry sources said such checks would standardise measures operators already have in place.

Johnson's successor as Conservative Party leader and prime minister is to be announced on September 5.

Read more on this subject:

'Alarm bells should be ringing for punters' as gambling review details emerge

'Out of control' regulator told to leave affordability checks to gambling review

Gambling Commission boss defends 'lack of transparency' on affordability checks

Affordability checks are already hurting racing's income says new BHA chair

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