Michael Dugher is leaving his role as Betting and Gaming Council chair with immediate effect, the trade body announced on 14 January. He will take a role at advisory firm Brunswick Group after six years with the BGC, which he led as chief executive before becoming chair.
The departure changes the leadership of a UK gambling trade body during the implementation of regulatory reforms.
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Entain said it has begun consulting on changes to its customer care operation that could remove up to 400 roles across multiple locations. The company said the roles represent part of its approximately 2,000-person customer care workforce and linked the changes to efforts to address higher UK gambling taxes.
The Betting and Gaming Council appointed Gamesys managing director Kane Purdy as chair with immediate effect, following Michael Dugher’s departure in January. The BGC said Purdy’s term will last 12 months as it moves to a rotating non-executive chair model involving representatives from member companies.
The Betting and Gaming Council said the UK’s planned increase in Machine Games Duty to 25% could put nearly 9,000 jobs at risk and leave almost 1,000 betting shops and casinos facing closure or serious risk of closure, citing EY estimates. The council also cited more than 600 betting shops closed or set to close since the previous year’s budget and said over 11,000 online and retail jobs had been lost or put at risk. Its chief executive, Grainne Hurst, criticised the tax increase.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has criticised the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer's decision to raise Machine Games Duty (MGD) to 25%, the trade body said. The BGC said the increase would put almost 9,000 jobs at risk and leave almost 1,000 betting shops and casinos facing closure or serious risk of closure, according to estimates by EY cited by the council.
A group of Labour MPs led by Alex Ballinger has written to UK Chancellor John Healey calling for a higher rate of machine games duty on Category B machines, including B3 machines in Adult Gaming Centres. The letter, sent on Friday, comes ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October amid speculation about tax rises for land-based casinos. The Betting and Gaming Council called the proposal "deeply misguided", citing studies that a rise to 40% could cost up to 16,000 jobs.
A group of Labour MPs led by Alex Ballinger has written to UK Chancellor John Healey asking for a higher rate of machine games duty (MGD) on Category B gambling machines, including B3 machines in Adult Gaming Centres. The letter was sent on Friday. It arrives before the Autumn Budget on 28 October, amid speculation that the chancellor will announce tax increases for UK land-based casinos.
The House of Lords Liaison Committee urged the UK government to ban gambling advertising. Its follow-up report also called on ministers to drop the aim of growing the licensed industry and return to a policy of tolerating gambling without promoting it. Industry figures and researchers dispute the report’s treatment of survey data, advertising measures and illegal-market risks.
The House of Lords Liaison Committee has urged the government to ban gambling advertising "as soon as practicable" and to abandon its aim of growing the licensed industry, in a follow-up report published on 17 September. The committee said there is "no evidence for the safety of gambling advertising" and that voluntary measures "have not gone far enough". The government has two months to respond.