BGC welcomes UK government's modernization plans for casinos, urges swift implementation

The UK's Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) welcomed the government's modernization plans for land-based casinos and called for their swift implementation.

Proposals outlined by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), in its White Paper consultation response on land-based betting and gaming, included what the association labeled "a host of modest, but mission critical, modernization measures."

The plan includes the introduction of cashless payments, new rules on gaming machine allocations, and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting for the first time. The BGC says it will take time "to consider the full impact of the proposals."

In a further move welcomed by the BGC, the government said the Gambling Commission would consult on player protection measures to ensure the correct standards are in place when debit card payments are used on gaming machines.

The BGC urged ministers to act swiftly to implement the plans to help businesses "improve their offer to customers without delay."

“Casinos are a vital pillar of the UK’s leisure, hospitality and tourism sector and we welcome the Government’s consultation response which is positive progress on the modest, long-overdue but mission-critical modernisation reforms needed for the land-based casino sector to compete and thrive,” Michael Dugher, CEO and Acting Chair of the Betting and Gaming Council, said.

“Much-needed reforms on cashless payments, gaming machine allocations and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting will strengthen the sector to better meet the needs and expectations of their customers. While we welcome these proposals, attention must now shift to the timeline for implementing policy changes and we urge the Government to urgently set out a clear timeline for progressing the relevant legislation to make them reality for our members,” Dugher added.

The CEO highlighted that "too many casinos have closed in recent years," which he said occurred as successive administrations failed to deliver the changes that were needed to protect jobs and growth.

"The BGC and our fantastic casino members have campaigned for these new measures for years to allow businesses to modernise, innovate and grow, and we strongly welcome the Government’s approach to ensure casinos are better placed to make that happened,” he added.

The new proposals were outlined in a Written Ministerial Statement by Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society Stuart Andrew MP.

Announcing the new measures, he said: “As set out in the Gambling Act Review white paper, the measures we consulted on are therefore necessary to modernize the outdated and overly restrictive regulations that apply to the land-based gambling sector.”

BGC said land-based casinos are a vital pillar of the regulated betting and gaming sector, as well as the leisure, tourism and hospitality sectors. In London alone, they deliver an additional £100 million ($127 million) to the capital’s economy, as per the association's data.