Bacta: Early elections could disrupt adoption of Gambling Act Review reforms

Bacta utilised its latest meeting in Glasgow to address the potential ramifications of early elections on the industry.

The organisation’s President John Bollom, Vice President Joseph Cullis, and Executive Directors George McGregor and Robert Gibb, reinforced their commitment to Bacta’s membership programme in front of an audience of its Scottish members.

The trade body explained that early general elections will impact the government’s White Paper gambling reform recommendations and could potentially delay them.

However, Cullis, who chaired the meeting, expressed hope that the government “get the statutory instruments agreed prior to summer recess with the House Rising on July 23”. Bacta will also continue its ‘meet your National Council’ open forum where members can share their concerns and convene appropriate responses going forward.

With the last forum taking place in Leeds, plans are to extend a similar initiative to the South West of England after the summer season.

Looking back at the Glasgow meeting, Cullis commented: “Following the publication of the White Paper last April the ensuing months have been among the busiest periods faced by Bacta in its 50-years serving the industry.

“This was evident during our meeting in Glasgow when a packed agenda included discussions on the introduction of cashless payments which is unlikely to take place before April 2025, the regulations concerning Category D machines in FECs and an update on the requirement to submit regulatory returns on a quarterly basis.

“Members were also interested in learning about Bacta’s lobbying for a review of stakes and prizes, our recommendations on updating technical standards which were submitted to the Gambling Commission at the end of April and the discussions we are having with the government regarding the introduction of an Ombudsman avoiding the need to resort to primary legislation.

“We were also able to share our plans to produce industry-wide economic and social impact data for members to send to their local MP and parliamentary candidates ahead of the general election and provide insight on how the methodology used in the Gambling Survey of Great Britain – formally known as the Prevalence Study – will result in an increase in the reported incidence of problem gambling and is not comparable to previous data.

“Bacta is a national organisation and listening to the lived experience of members throughout Great Britain is vital.”