Peers for Gambling Reform director promises ‘evidence not instinct’ approach to compliance

Peers for Gambling Reform director Tim Miller highlights the importance of consolidating current reforms, rather than pursuing new directions.

In a speech made on September 3 at the Peers for Gambling Reform Gambling Summit, executive director Tim Miller highlighted the ongoing achievements of the Gambling Commission and pushed for an evidence-based approach to consolidate the work already done, rather than pursuing new types of reform.

“My encouragement to all of those that have an interest in making gambling fair, safe, and crime-free is do not allow a drive for future reforms to be at the expense of effective delivery and measurement of current reforms,” Miller said. “Because it is delivery, not further policy papers, that will actually protect consumers.”

He went on to express concern that many of those working on gambling reform introduce new ideas to campaign on, without ensuring that past, important reforms are being executed to the best possible extent. While Miller didn’t doubt the commitment of those involved to creating a fairer, safer gambling market, he emphasized the need to focus on the biggest priorities and evaluate how well compliance is being enforced.

“We are not going to rely upon gut instinct or belief to measure the success of [previous gambling reforms] – we will rely upon evidence,” he said.

The Gambling Commission’s achievements in gambling reform so far

Miller also took the opportunity to celebrate what has been achieved so far, congratulating the sector on “just some of the changes that we have delivered that have already come into force”. These include financial vulnerability checks to protect those who are at the greatest risk of harm, changes to direct marketing from operators, and new rules to reduce the speed and intensity of online gambling products.

He also applauded efforts to tighten age-verification, with staff at gambling premises now required to check the age of any customer who appears to be under 25 years of age and new rules introduced so that even smaller businesses must carry out age verification test purchasing.

“I am unapologetic in saying that the Commission must and will remain focused on delivering the already considerable statutory roles that Parliament gave to us,” concluded Miller. “We are equally committed to remaining focused on playing our part in implementing the Gambling Act Review White Paper, as quickly and efficiently as possible and then evaluating its effectiveness. This will then provide a strong evidence base to inform any discussions that there may be in the future about potential further reforms.”

Featured image: Gambling Commission

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