BGC WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF POPPY GUSTAFSSON OBE AS MINISTER FOR INVESTMENT AND COMMITS TO DELIVERING ON GOVERNMENT’S GROWTH AGENDA

Standards body the Betting and Gaming Council has congratulated Poppy Gustafsson OBE on her appointment as Minister for Investment and committed to working with Government to deliver their growth agenda.

The Former Darktrace CEO was appointed ahead of an inaugural International Investment Summit, to harness business expertise and drive economic growth across the UK.

BGC members already make huge economic investments across the nation, contributing £7.1bn to the economy, generating £4.2bn in tax, while supporting 110,000 jobs.

That economic footprint boosts growth around the UK, with nearly two thirds of industry supported jobs currently based outside London, including nearly 20,000 in the West Midlands alone.

BGC members have founded tech powerhouses in places like Stoke on Trent where bet365 are the biggest private sector employer, Flutter in Leeds and Sunderland, Ballys in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Entain in London and Nottingham, Evoke in Leeds and BetFred in Warrington, and support Britain’s hard pressed high streets through betting shops, as well as the hospitality and tourism sector, through casinos.

However, the sector is at a crossroads, as it seeks to implement the measures contained in last year’s White Paper, which will cost the sector around £1bn.

Further tax or regulatory changes now could undermine that investment and threaten jobs and growth in the UK, the BGC warned.

Meanwhile the BGC has previously called for the modest, but mission critical, modernisation plans contained in the White Paper for land-based casinos to be implemented without delay, unlocking significant investment across the UK.

They already boast cross-party support and include much needed reforms on cashless payments, gaming machine allocations and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting, which will strengthen the sector to better meet the needs and expectations of their customers.

BGC CEO Grainne 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 Poppy Gustafsson OBE on her appointment as Minister for Investment.

“Poppy is an accomplished entrepreneur and brings a wealth of much needed business and financial experience to this new role. I’m also delighted to see that she will be a joint minister across the Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury, where I know her private sector expertise will make a huge contribution.

“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. This is a sector ready to contribute on growth, jobs and investment across the 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.

“Our sector needs a solid and stable regulatory footing and tax environment to be able to unlock new investment and grow across the whole of the country. That is particularly true for our land-based casino members, where policy is already set, but needs to be implemented, to unlock vital new investment.”

On top of the sector’s wider economic contribution, BGC members also provide some of the country’s most popular sport with vital funding, from the grassroots to the elite level.

The Sky Bet sponsored English Football League and its clubs receive £40m, William Hill sponsors the Scottish Professional Football League, while a host of other BGC members from Betway to Kindred are supporting football and other sports.

Meanwhile, horseracing receives £350m, and snooker, darts and rugby league – which is currently sponsored by Betfred - receive more than £12.5m.

The regulated betting and gaming industry is determined to promote safer gaming, unlike the unsafe and growing black market, which has none of the safeguards strictly employed by BGC members.

A recent study found 1.5m Brits stake up to £4.3bn on the growing, unsafe gambling black market each year. It found illegal operators are aggressively targeting UK customers, significantly undermining player protections, while sucking millions from sport and the Treasury.

Researchers found the vast sums bet on the gambling black market online and offline could deprive the Treasury of up to £335m over the course of a five-year Parliament, if action is not taken.

Annually, that is the equivalent of up to 1,700 nurses salaries, or up to 1.2m extra GP consultations or up to 1,500 teacher salaries.

The BGC has consistently said balanced regulations and stable taxation is the best defence against the black market.

Each month around 22.5m adults in Britain enjoy a bet, whether it’s buying a lottery ticket, having a game of bingo, visiting a casino, playing online or having a wager on football, horseracing and other sports.

The most recent NHS Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4 per cent of the adult population are problem gamblers.