BGC CEO Michael Dugher in the dark about UK Government gambling White Paper
Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) CEO Michael Dugher says he doesn’t know what will be included in the impending UK Government White Paper on gambling.
Responding to a question from Entain Head of Public Affairs Martin Le Jeune about a statutory levy and the charity GambleAware at today’s BGC Annual General Meeting, Dugher explained that even those familiar with the internal process cannot be certain of the exact contents of the White Paper due to all the moving parts involved.
Le Jeune referenced two Tweets by Rob Davies and Tom Witherow announcing that they are “not 100% certain, but reasonably certain” that there will be a statutory levy of some description included in the White Paper.
He added that “one of the reasons why we might be fighting an uphill battle in this is probably because of the often restated belief that we tell GambleAware where to spend its money, which is repeated by senior politicians, and it’s untruthful.”
When asked by Le Jeune if there is “anything more we can do” to lay such a belief to rest and make sure that the facts are properly established, Dugher responded: “I’m happy to say that I don’t know what is going to be in the White Paper when it’s published.
“I think there are people who are very, very close to the process who at the moment couldn’t tell you 100% what’s going to be in the White Paper because there are ongoing discussions in the department, but there will be discussions across Whitehall as you’d expect.
“So in the same way – and I’m not talking myself down here – I don’t know what’s going to be in the White Paper, and neither does Rob Davies. He and Tom are campaigning journalists, not news reporters. That’s perfectly legitimate, they’ve got the campaign, and that’s a legitimate part of the noise.
“But let’s be honest about where we’re coming from. I’m honest that I represent the industry, I think campaigners are honest when they talk about who they represent as well, but let’s not pretend to be something we’re not.
“Rob Davies has no idea what is in this White Paper. He’ll speak to some people who will have an idea of what they might like to be in the White Paper, and what might be being considered, so that’s legitimate reporting. But let’s not be fooled by saying ‘we know what’s going to be in the White Paper,’ because I don’t, and they definitely don’t.”
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