Chris Philp appointed gambling minister as reshuffle continues

The latest development in Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle has seen Chris Philp named the new Gambling Minister, replacing John Whittingdale.

Although the new appointee’s responsibilities have not yet been disclosed, it has been confirmed that he will oversee the continuation of the review of the 2005 Gambling Act following Whitingdale’s dismissal last week.

Philp’s first act as Gambling Minister was to comment on the government’s Independent Review into the collapse of Football Index, stating that lessons must be learned in order to ensure ‘a situation like this does not happen again’.

The Croydon South MP’s political career has seen him campaign for stricter regulation of fixed-odds betting terminals )FOBTs) prior to the implementation of the £2 stake limit in 2019, suggesting he may take a tougher stance on the industry than his predecessors when undertaking the review.

He will serve under newly appointed DCMS Secretary Nadine Dorries, who replaced Oliver Dowden earlier as one of the first major changes of the cabinet reshuffle last week.

Welcoming the Minister, Michael Dugher, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), said: “On behalf of the 119,000 people whose jobs are supported by BGC members, I welcome Chris Philp as the new minister responsible for gambling. He comes to the brief with an excellent reputation as a talented and extremely capable minister.

The BGC Chief further highlighted the organisations desire not to ‘lose momentum’ as the industry, regulators and government work towards the gambling review white paper, whilst reiterating the betting industry’s £4.5 billion tax contribution as well as £7.7 billion in gross value added to the British economy.

He concluded: “I look forward to working with Chris in the months ahead as the BGC continues to drive big changes and higher standards on safer gambling, ensuring we get the balance right between protecting the vulnerable while ensuring that the millions who enjoy a flutter safely and responsibly have the freedom to do so.”