Long-awaited gambling reforms to be revealed as smartphones branded ‘trapdoor to despair’
A new tax on gambling firms and maximum stakes for online slot machines are being considered under government plans to crack down on online addiction.
The government is due to publish its highly anticipated gambling review on Thursday following a number of delays.
Among the measures expected to be confirmed in the report is a consultation on new affordability checks on those making significant losses.
Outlining the government’s approach in The Times, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said the white paper will help “redress the power imbalance between punters and operators”.
Ms Frazer wrote: “We live in a freedom-loving democracy where, for the overwhelming majority of adults, betting is a bit of fun and it doesn’t come with ruinous consequences.”
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She warned that smartphones had become a “trapdoor to despair and isolation” with gambling now “not just on high streets but everywhere and anywhere, providing round-the-clock access to betting opportunities”.
Arguing that regulations had failed to keep up with the pace of change in the industry, Ms Frazer said there were “blindspots in the system that are being exploited, keeping addicts addicted and disproportionately impacting some of our communities who are least able to afford it”.
She added: “Our gambling white paper has measures to redress the power imbalance between punters and operators.
“It will do more to protect children and fund research on how we can do more to prevent addiction in the future.
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Gambling Review ready for release?
“It will strengthen our regulator and make sure it is as savvy as the companies it regulates. Most importantly, it will match our words with deeds.”
While the full details will only be revealed later on Thursday, the expectation is that the plans will include stake limits for online slot machines and a requirement to slow down online casino games to stop players losing large amounts of money in a short timeframe.
The newspaper reported that the affordability checks under consideration would apply to those who make losses of £1,000 in a day and also those who lose £2,000 over 90 days.
Ministers will also consult on a new mandatory levy to replace the current voluntary levy that will be spent on funding addiction education, treatment and research.
The Times reported that the levy, if enforced, could mean that large companies pay 1% of their profits to potentially fund NHS treatment for those who are addicted.
However, the newspaper said that VIP schemes offering hospitality and bonuses to biggest losers will not be banned.
The government has been under pressure to act following a number of cases in which people have taken their own lives over their addiction to gambling.
Last year, the parents of Jack Ritchie, 24, accused the government of being “asleep at the wheel” in their failure to regulate an industry they described as “predatory” and “parasitic”.
A landmark inquest into the suicide of Mr Ritchie found that regulation, NHS treatment and government warnings about the dangers of gambling were “woefully inadequate”.
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The inquest in Sheffield was the first of its kind to examine the link between suicide and gambling and the way it is regulated.
Gambling With Lives, a charity that was set up by families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, said ahead of the report’s publication: “We’ll welcome any positives in today’s white paper, but it seems much will be pushed to consultation, meaning more delay.
“We’ve waited years, more than 1,000 people have died while the industry has made billions in profit from harm. We need action now to stop the deaths.
Labour’s shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell accused the government of being “beset by chaos and delay” over the white paper.
She added: “There is broad consensus in parliament that we need to update analogue gambling regulation so it is fit for the digital age, yet the Conservatives’ failure to govern means this is still some way off. We will work to ensure that gambling laws are urgently updated.”
Peter Jackson, chief executive of Flutter Entertainment plc, said: “We welcome the publication of the white paper, which marks a significant moment for the UK gambling sector.
“Whilst we will need to review the detail of the proposals once published, we believe proactive change will lead to a better future for our industry.
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“As such we have introduced industry-leading safer gambling controls via our ‘Play Well’ strategy over the last few years, including setting mandatory deposit limits for customers under age 25, reducing online slots staking limits to £10 per spin and making material investments in our safer gambling operational capabilities.
“We will continue to constructively engage with the government and Gambling Commission as part of any subsequent industry consultation processes, with a focus on providing support to the minority at risk of gambling harm without interfering disproportionately with the enjoyment of the vast majority.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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