Gambling: Regulatory Reform

Cameron Thomas Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

In the absence of my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon), I thank you, Sir Desmond. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) for securing this important debate.

As a teenaged boy, every morning on my way to school I would stop off at the home of my friend M and we would walk the last few hundred metres to school together. We shared a number of classes, and every lunch time we would abscond back to his house to play video games. As we became adults, we enjoyed betting on weekend football accumulators as we watched the live scores come in, at the small cost of a few pounds.

As I came to spend fewer weekends with our friendship group, and gradually lost interest in betting, M continued to bet more consistently and with ever greater stakes. The rise in online gambling firms was followed by increasingly invasive advertising campaigns, not only on the shirts of the footballers he watched or on the hoardings of premier league football stadiums, but increasingly in his social media feeds. Everywhere M looked, there was a betting company chipping away at his judgment, enticing him to put money down.

Adverts showed groups of young men cheering at TV screens in packed bars. They did not show dark bedrooms dimly illuminated by computer monitors or mobile phones. They did not show vulnerable young men in despair, having lost a pay packet on the first weekend of the month. M was well into his 20s by the time he realised he was a problem gambler. By the time he had reached his 30s, family members were protecting his wages from his addiction. By the time he was 40, he had twice lost deposits he had been saving to buy a home.

There is a sensible and nuanced course of action to be charted here. People such as my friend M need action, but establishments such as Cheltenham Racecourse in my constituency of Tewkesbury must not be conflated with online betting companies. Cheltenham Racecourse’s 250,000 annual visitors generate £274 million for the Gloucestershire economy, but the Jockey Club, which operates the racecourse in my Tewkesbury constituency, generates a tiny fraction of the huge profits enjoyed by large online gambling companies.

Taxation that fails to discriminate between such vastly different operations risks undermining the viability of horseracing, one of Britain’s oldest and most recognisable national sports, which contributes more than £3 billion annually to the British economy. I welcome the Government’s implementation of a Liberal Democrat policy in its increase to the remote gaming duty, though that money should be ringfenced to treat victims of gambling-related harms.

The most crucial action that must be taken, however, as my hon. Friend the Member for Witney said, is to restrict betting advertisement, particularly of the type that bombards sports viewers and seeks to blur the lines between sports and betting. Effective affordability checks could better protect those vulnerable to gambling addiction. I also note the speech by the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), who said that a betting ombudsman is long overdue.

The Government should tackle gambling harms, but they must distinguish between those operations that prey on the vulnerable—at all hours, across all platforms—and those that genuinely contribute to our culture and economy.

Football Governance Bill [Lords]

Cameron Thomas Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

Supporters of lower league football clubs know the score: relegation all but confirmed, millionaire financiers abandoned, desperately clinging on to former glory, leaky at the back, midfield absent, not much going on up top, leadership completely out of their depth—but enough about the Conservative party. Despite the Conservatives’ attempt to turn this debate into a game of two faces, I have a serious point.

In 2008, business partners Yasuaki Kagami and George Synan became majority shareholders at Plymouth Argyle, which had been shortlisted to host games at the 2018 world cup, had England’s bid been successful. It was not, of course, so their interest in the club collapsed. Finances were withheld and Argyle, with one eye on the premier league, were relegated to the championship, then league one and then league two, in the space of three years. They were on the brink of insolvency before they were rescued by James Brent.

English football clubs such as Argyle should never become cash cows for vultures such as Kagami and Synan. Our largest clubs should never become money laundering operations for oligarchs tied to murderous dictators. Our football clubs are the beating hearts of our communities, around which local economies thrive; identities, friendships and rivalries are forged; and our culture is exported.

I broadly welcome this Bill for the regulation of ownership that it will introduce, but there are no mentions of slavery or human rights in the ownership test. Will the Government answer whether they consider those issues important in the fit and proper ownership of clubs?

I have one more point. It is unfortunate that the Government voted down an amendment from the Lords that would have reduced gambling advertisement and sponsorship in English football. There is an obvious opportunity here to protect our young people from a toxic industry that deliberately preys on the vulnerable. I do not often give too much credit to Arsenal alumni, but I know that Paul Merson would have wanted this. Will the Government tell me why they voted down that amendment?

Gambling Harms

Cameron Thomas Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for securing this important debate.

Tewkesbury is home to the prestigious and internationally famed Cheltenham racecourse, which is one of the largest in the UK. Every year, more than 250,000 people visit the racecourse across four days of racing at Cheltenham festival, and many enjoy betting on the results. A 2023 study conducted by the University of Gloucestershire found that the economic benefit of Cheltenham festival was an estimated £274 million.

I consider myself a horseracing sceptic, but, as the Member of Parliament for Cheltenham racecourse, I must take a nuanced position. That £274 million is an astonishing figure, and I value that contribution. We must also consider the associated financial harms and the mental and physical health impacts of gambling on the UK economy, which cost £1.4 billion per year.

I am also acutely aware that problem gambling is a serious public health issue. I proudly submitted the Liberal Democrats’ contribution to the Gambling Act 2005 (Operating Licence Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 just last week, supporting financial caps on bets made online. Public Health England reports that approximately 246,000 people are problem gamblers in England alone, and a further 2.2 million people are at risk. Shockingly, it further reports that there are more than 400 gambling-related suicides per year.

My constituents deserve a Member of Parliament who puts their wellbeing ahead of the interests of private betting companies, while recognising the economic and social contribution of the industry. My residents deserve to be protected from exploitation by betting companies, which cannot be trusted, much less expected, to self-regulate. Our residents do not need another round of public consultations; they need action. I want to see significant restrictions on gambling advertising, including but not limited to that which plagues young people’s social media feeds and YouTube videos.

Gambling firms are at pains to present their industry as symbiotic with sport, deliberately placing their adverts around football broadcasts, stadiums and shirts.

[Abtisam Mohamed]

One particular gambling company says to people that when the fun stops, the betting should stop. Does the hon. Member agree that when the fun stops, it is far too late?

[Cameron Thomas]

I absolutely agree, but we should not leave it to gambling companies to make that statement. We should instead take action.

Gambling is not symbiotic with sport, and the companies should not be allowed to indoctrinate children, whose parents, like me, just want to introduce them to the beautiful game. We no longer allow fast food companies to align themselves with sport, and we should treat gambling companies in precisely the same way.

Draft Gambling Act 2005 (Operating Licence Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 Draft Gambling Levy Regulations 2025

Cameron Thomas Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 General Committees

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

The Liberal Democrats support the regulations. The stake limit will help to address gambling-related harm associated with online slots, which have rapid, repetitive play patterns and high average losses per customer. It reflects a commitment to tackling problem gambling and is a progressive step in the right direction, strengthening player protection.

Combating problem gambling is a topic the Liberal Democrats have campaigned on consistently. It is a serious public health issue, and it is vital that we take robust action to mitigate the risks. According to the latest Public Health England report on gambling, approximately 246,000 people are problem gamblers and 2.2 million are at risk.

The introduction of the statutory levy is a welcome step, as are the regulations, but I urge the Government to go further. We urgently need action to tackle pervasive gambling advertising and sponsorship. We also need action on black market gambling, and we need gaming products such as loot boxes to be regulated as gambling products to protect children from gambling harms.

Fundamentally, we need a commitment from Government to treat the issue as the public health issue it clearly is. That was the approach agreed in the 2023 White Paper, and it must give primacy to protecting the public from gambling harms. My party has also called for the remote gaming duty to be doubled, and I urge the Government to look carefully at that proposal.

It is evident that urgent action is needed, and the regulations are an important step forward. Therefore, the Liberal Democrats support them.