MPs will write to the Prime Minister this week to express concern that 10 political advisers with previous links to the gambling industry may oppose tougher regulation aimed at protecting vulnerable people and addicts.
The industry has spent £280,000 on lawmakers to overhaul gambling laws, which are expected to be published next week, the Guardian analysis shows.
Politicians happily attend Wimbledon, Lord’s and Euro 2020 football tournaments and pay for speeches and other jobs, thanks to the £11bn-a-year gambling industry.
In some cases, lawmakers voted against stricter gambling restrictions in Parliament the same day or shortly thereafter, enjoying the hospitality of the industry.
However, a letter to be sent this week by a cross-party group of lawmakers led by former Tory leader Ian Duncan Smith and Labor MP Carolyn Harris is expected to draw attention to the potential impact of the gambling industry in the UK Downing Street will steer.
Harris said: “It will be deeply concerned if the No. 10 unelected official in gambling is now involved in decisions about the content of the Government’s Gambling White Paper. Honestly, the people of this country deserve better, and that is exactly what will throw into question all the results of the review, which we have been waiting for too long.
While the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) drafts the proposed reforms, No. 10 will make a final decision on whether to ban betting logos from football shirts, as well as fund addiction research. A mandatory levy has been proposed for education and treatment.
Westminster insiders said the DCMS proposal had met with skepticism from Cabinet ministers such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, but also from Boris Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary, Andrew Griffith, and his deputy chief of staff, David Canzini.
Before becoming Johnson’s management adviser and then MP, Griffith was chief financial officer of the media group Sky.
While responsible for the company’s finances, he sold a 20 per cent stake in Skybet to gaming company The Stars Group, now part of the Flutter Group, which owns Paddy Power, for £635million. The channel also benefited from a trademark licensing deal with Skybet and significant advertising revenue from gaming companies.
At the end of June 2018, a year before he went to Downing Street, Griffith held 197,580 shares of Sky and was entitled to up to 6.7 million more under a long-term incentive plan.
The company was bought later that year by American media giant Comcast in a deal worth over £30bn.
Canzini previously worked for CT Group, the lobbying and government consulting firm of Johnson’s election guru Linton Crosby, who has recently returned to the troubled Prime Minister’s inner circle.
During Canzini’s time at CT Group, the company worked with betting firm Anten, which also owns Ladbrokes and Coral, to set up a player advocacy group called the Players Panel.
Its launch was marred by controversy after one of the panel’s elected members posted racist and homophobic messages on Facebook.
There is no indication that Canzini was on the player panel.
In response to the concerns, Number 10 explained that all shares in Griffith and Canzini were declared assets and neither had any financial interest in the gambling industry. It said Griffith cut all ties with Sky Group in July 2019.
Duncan Smith & Harris is expected to request number 10 to be as transparent as possible regarding direct or indirect relationships between consultants and gambling companies.
A separate analysis by the Guardian shows that 38 MPs, two-thirds of them Conservative, were enjoying £280,000 in salaries, hospitality and speaking fees in the period leading up to the gambling review.
One, Jonathan Gullis MP, read from a briefing written by Bet365 during the debate at Westminster Hall earlier this year. He later apologized for forgetting to give the receipt for tickets to Stoke City, which appeared to be worth £540.
An analysis of 77 gambling-related entries in Parliamentarians’ interest register shows that the biggest beneficiary was Tewkesbury MP and avid horse racing driver Lawrence Robertson, who took £13,654 in tickets to sporting events and £25,000 over two years as a consultant. 48,000 stands for Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).
Shipley MP Philip Davies earned around £50,000 working for Entain and was paid £6,788 in tickets to sporting events from Entain, Gamesys, Starsports, Flutter and BGC.
Scott Benton, MP for Blackpool South, accepted tickets worth £9,359, including a seat at England’s Euro 2020 match against Denmark, which he attended hours after he opposed stricter gambling regulation in Parliament.
Benton was at the center of another row over gambling regulation after his cross-party gambling group produced a report criticizing the Gambling Commission for being too strict. One member of the group, Labor MP Conor McGuin, resigned over the report, while other lawmakers distanced themselves from it.
Publicly available disclosures also show that former Gambling Secretary John Whittingdale accepted £6,000 from the BGC and £4,962 worth of tickets and hospitality from the same organization at Ascot to speak at an event.
A government spokesman said: “The Government has discussed a full and wide-ranging review of gambling laws to ensure they are fit for the digital age and build on our strong track record of tackling gambling-related losses. We do it.
“We will be releasing our gambling white paper in the coming weeks.”
source
