Industry backs re-election of DCMS Committee Chair Caroline Dinenage

Dame Caroline Dinenage has been re-elected as Chair of the Culture, Media and Sports Committee, as announced by House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle. 

Through the cross-party committee, the Gosport Conservative MP will continue the strict supervision and scrutiny of the work presented by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport within its remits, including gambling policy. 

A congratulatory letter was handed down by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which itself recently went through a significant leadership restructure after Grainne Hurst took on the CEO reins from Michael Dugher. 

Hurst said: “On behalf of our members, the 110,000 people whose jobs rely on the regulated betting and gaming industry, and the 22.5 million people who enjoy a bet each month, I’d like to congratulate Caroline on her re-election as Chair of the Committee.

“I’m delighted that Caroline will continue to bring her wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for the sector to this critical role in Westminster and we look forward to working with her and the team on the Committee.

“From high streets to hospitality, from tourism to tech, our members generate £4.2bn in taxes for the Treasury and contribute £7.1bn to the wider economy. 

“The BGC and our members remain committed to implementing changes outlined in the White Paper, ensuring those measures get the balance right between protecting the vulnerable, while allowing the vast majority of punters who enjoy betting responsibly to continue doing so without unnecessary intrusion.”

Hurst further reminded of the responsibility that the UK’s regulated gambling market holds towards players and their safety, and that all BGC members such as Flutter and bet365 remain committed to delivering on that while fostering constructive dialogue with the upper government floors, where Dinenage will be sitting. 

On her committee re-election, Dinenage added: “I’m delighted to be re-elected to Chair the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and entrusted to build on our achievements in the last parliament. 

“These sectors are our global economic super-power, they have remarkable abilities to drive regeneration and bring communities together. I will continue to work cross-party to ensure the government doesn’t take them for granted and they continue to fire on all cylinders.”

As a side note on gambling’s role in society, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) released its 2024 wave-1 dataset of its Gambling Survey for Great Britain – with an updated methodology and data collection process.

Results show that 48% of the surveyed have engaged with the sector at least once in the past four weeks. However, Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) data will become available only when the UKGC publishes its wave-2 report.