UK minister coy on gambling white paper

The government minister leading the review into UK gambling reform remained coy on the publication of the long-awaited white paper in a TV appearance.

Paul Scully, who is the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, was pressed for an update on the BBC’s Politics Live programme on Wednesday.

“All I can say is that it’s in the next few weeks,” he said.

Scully could not confirm if that meant the white paper will be published before Christmas, adding that he wants to get it “absolutely right, rather than rush it” and that “it depends how you define the ‘next few weeks’.”

Scully also confirmed that he has had a meeting with Gambling with Lives, which supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicide.

Scully is the fifth UK government official tasked with overseeing the review of the Gambling Act – which aims to bring UK legislation on gambling up to speed with the digital age – since the plan was revealed in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto.

The review has been dogged by setbacks, particularly in recent months. Chris Philp was the third official in charge of overseeing the reform before he resigned in July, claiming the review was “with No 10 for final approval.”

Damian Collins took over soon after, but he too stepped down at the end of October, with Scully now in charge.

British newsaper The Times recently claimed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made the white paper one of his key priorities.