A debate on whether Britain requires a new gambling act scheduled for Labour’s Annual Conference in Liverpool on Monday 28 September, has been slammed for its lack of “representation of either punters or industry figures”.
The debate, which is titled ‘What Next for Gambling Reform? Time for a New Act?’, was promoted on X by the chair of the panel and senior fellow at think tank the Social Market Foundation (SMF), James Noyes.
The speaker lineup features Vicky Foxcroft, who was appointed gambling minister in August, Alex Ballinger MP, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for gambling reform, and backbench MP Dawn Butler.
Ballinger is previously on the record as saying the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review, published in 2023, was “just scratching the surface” and that he is pushing for a new gambling act to be included as a commitment in a future Labour manifesto.
Also on the panel for the event, due to take place from 4pm to 6pm, is Will Prochaska of the Coalition to End Gambling Ads, along with Charlie Buckley from non-profit organisation More in Common.
However, Noyes’ post received nearly 70 replies from bookmakers and punters, including from Ben Keith – owner of on-course, retail and online operator Star Sports – who pointed out Liverpool hosts The Grand National meeting “and yet you haven’t invited any of these happy punters onto your panel”.
Anthony Kaminskas, founder of challenger bookmaker AK Bets, wrote: “[The] ‘How Do We Grow The Black Market’ panel is lit.” Meanwhile, horseracing journalist Francis Keogh replied to Noyes by saying: “When is the rest of the panel announced?”
Others accused the debate of being nothing more than an “echo chamber”, while Nick Goff, former head of football trading at Coral and now a professional gambler, said the fact there are “no betting experts on this ‘expert’ panel” was “pathetic all round”.
Ryan Murton, vice-president of commercial at Midnite, pulled no punches with his response on the platform: “James, with respect, this panel selection is an absolute disgrace. You should be utterly ashamed of yourself.”
Noyes’ X post has been viewed more than 66,000 times so far.
Butler, the MP for Brent East, has been instrumental in pushing the government to scrap the ‘aim to permit’ rule which prevents councils from refusing the opening of new betting shops.
Yet opposition to new premises is at odds with the fact betting shops have dwindled from almost 7,700 in 2020 to 5,617 in the latest statistics released by the Gambling Commission, up to March 2026.
The latest numbers don’t account for Paddy Power announcing earlier this month that it was to close as many as 100 shops across Britain and Ireland, while Betfred said in July that the Warrington-based bookmaker was to shutter more than 130 outlets.
What’s more, founder Fred Done said another 495 shops – or 45% of Betfred’s retail estate – could go if the Treasury doubles machine games duty (MGD) in the Autumn Budget on 28 October.
The SMF has urged the government to hike MGD on Category B machines found in betting shops, casinos, bingo halls and Adult Gaming Centres from 20% to 40%.
The think tank suggested this could raise up to £458m a year in additional tax revenue, though critics have pointed out the modelling makes no attempt to quantify potential venue closures or job losses.
Strategic advisory firm Regulus Partners forecast up to 4,000 betting shops could close and 25,000 jobs lost if the rate doubles.
The Betting and Gaming Council says modelling by EY suggests nearly 1,500 shops and 34 casinos could be lost, while the Treasury could “end up £124m worse off for it”.
Elsewhere, the House of Lords Liaison Committee has called for a blanket ban on gambling advertising, arguing this would be represent “a vital part of a public health approach”.
Industry reaction to the proposal was that a ban would “turn the clock back more than 20 years on a central principle of the Gambling Act 2005”.
EGR has contacted Noyes for comment.
The post Labour Annual Conference gambling reform debate accused of being an “echo chamber” first appeared on EGR Intel.
A senior figure at challenger bookmaker Midnite says in an X post the panel lineup for the two-hour event next week is “an absolute disgrace”
The post Labour Annual Conference gambling reform debate accused of being an “echo chamber” first appeared on EGR Intel.