Paul Scully Appointed Gambling Minister
MP Paul Scully has been named as the UK government’s new gambling minister. In his new role, Scully will lead the much-delayed Gambling Act Review. He is the fifth minister to hold the job title since the review was launched nearly two years ago. His appointment has been welcomed by industry members, and there are hopes that the review could soon be back on track.
Scully is the fifth minister to take charge of the Gambling Act Review since it was launched at the end of 2020. ©Naveen Annam/Pexels
Sunak’s New Cabinet
Following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle, a new minister is taking charge of the long-running Gambling Act Review. Paul Scully MP has been appointed the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy. As part of that role, he will act as the government’s gambling minister.
The Conservative minister has served as MP for Sutton and Cheam since 2015. Over the course of his political career Scully has held a wide variety of roles under the leadership of former Prime Ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. These have included stints as Trade Envoy to Brunei, Thailand and Burma, Parliamentary Private Secretary to Baroness Evans, the party’s Vice Chairman for London and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets.
Scully has served as Minister for London since February 2020, a role previously held by Chris Philp. Following the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July, he was named Minister at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He retained that role after Truss was elected as the leader of the Conservatives.
However, Truss’s leadership lasted just 50 days, making her the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the history of the United Kingdom. Just five days after she announced her resignation, Rishi Sunak was named Prime Minister. It had been expected that Boris Johnson would enter the leadership contest, but he decided not to stand. Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the contest less than two minutes before the deadline for nominations, leaving Sunak as the only remaining candidate.
Sunak is now a week into the job, and has been finalizing his cabinet reshuffle. Dominic Raab is back as Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, while Jeremy Hunt will retain his post as Chancellor. Suella Braverman has returned as Home Secretary, James Cleverly remains as Foreign Secretary and Ben Wallace remains as Defence Secretary.
Collins Stands Down
Michelle Donelan has also been reappointed as Culture Secretary, a role initially given by former Prime Minister Liz Truss. That role has previously been filled by Nadine Dorries and Oliver Dowden, both of whom have overseen the department’s review of the 2005 Gambling Act. Previous members of the DCMS who have taken charge of the review include Nigel Huddleston, John Whittingdale, Chris Philp, and most recently Damian Collins.
Paul Scully will now take over the position, after Collins stood down after three months. Collins took to social media to comment on his resignation, where he said that it had been “a real pleasure” to take forward the Online Safety Bill. He added that he will continue to support such measures from the backbenches.
Scully has been welcomed to the role by the Betting and Gaming Council, an industry body responsible for representing 90% of the UK’s bookmakers, casinos and online operators. The UK’s gambling industry generates £4.5 billion in taxes for the Treasury and contributes £7.7 billion to the economy.
Speaking on behalf of the BGC, CEO Michael Dugher congratulated Scully and praised the reappointment of Michele Donelan, encouraging her continue to engage with the industry to find a balance in the ongoing Gambling Act Review. He also paid tribute to Collins who is leaving the role, describing him as a respected minister.
Continuing, Dugher reiterated the BGC’s commitment to working closely with the DCMS on the review. The BGC has previously aired concerns that legislation making gambling too restrictive could cause consumers to use black market operators. Dugher stated:
“We are ready to work with DCMS to help find carefully targeted, proportionate measures which achieve the right balance. We want to continue to drive big changes and drive higher standards on safer gambling to better protect the most vulnerable, whilst at the same time ensuring that the 22.5 million punters who enjoy a flutter each month, perfectly safely and responsibly, have the freedom to do so.”
Hope for Gambling Act Review
Responding to his new position, Scully said on Twitter that he is excited to get stuck into his new role as Minister for Tech at the DCMS. As the fifth minister to manage the Gambling Act Review since it was first announced back in December 2020, Scully has a challenge on his hands. The review, which seeks to make sure that the UK’s gambling legislation is fit for the digital age, has been beset with delays.
When it was first launched, the review was expected to be completed within a year. Factors including the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Lottery License Competition and a cabinet reshuffle scuppered that plan. This summer, a white paper came close to being published, but was put on the backburner again.
Chris Philp was one of 62 government ministers and aides to resign over the Chris Pincher scandal. In his resignation letter, Philp called on Johnson to resign and stated that the Gambling Review was with No. 10 for final approval. He urged Johnson to deliver the review in full and undiluted.
That did not happen though, and the publication of the review was pushed forward until a new leader of the Conservative party was elected. Liz Truss formed her government on September 6th, but failed to offer clarity on when the review would be completed. Rumors circulated that the white paper was amongst a number that could be scrapped.
Another Prime Minister later, and the future of the Gambling Act Review remains uncertain. It is still early days for Sunak’s government to comment on it officially, but there is hope that the review could soon be back on track. Sunak served as Chancellor under Boris Johnson, who spearheaded the review as one of his campaign pledges.
