BGC AGM 2025 - Andrew Rhodes speech
28 February 2025
This speech was delivered by Chief Executive Andrew Rhodes at the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) Annual General Meeting on Thursday 27 February 2025.
Please note: This is the speech as drafted and may slightly differ from the delivered version.
Thank you very much. First of all, thank you for inviting me. I truly appreciate it, especially since you’ve had a full day today already.
Given this is an Annual General Meeting (AGM), I’ll try to keep my remarks at a high level. I won’t speak for too long but am happy to take questions at the end. To keep things summary based, I’ll talk briefly about the current market, some new statistics we published this morning, the use of evidence, and future developments in the next 12 months or so.
Starting with the market, much of this you will already know, but I’ll give you some perspective from the Gambling Commission. Recent data published shows that total gross gambling yield (GGY) is at its highest ever level at £15.6 billion. Participation in gambling has remained stable at 48%, just under half of the adult population in Great Britain
This morning, we published some new statistics, and what they show is that online betting, particularly, follows the pattern of large marquee events. For example, racing saw an uptick in participation recently, and GGY has tracked along with results. The statistics are showing a return to the previous norm, rather than a decline, which we need to keep an eye on.
If participation is static, then any growth in an individual area is essentially being ‘paid for’ if I can put it that way, with a decline in a different area. So, we do need to understand what movements are in consumer behaviour regarding what products people are engaging with.
Now the frequency of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) allows us to see these movements in a much greater frequency than we did before.
One recent development we have observed is the significant growth of large-scale prize draws, which are not regulated by us. The growth of society lottery sales has also reached a milestone of £1 billion. Interestingly, the participation rate in the non-regulated products I just mentioned is much higher than it is for some regulated gambling products. It is getting close to being on a par with betting in terms of participation. In terms of average spending, they are also closing the gap with betting.
In terms of participation, the highest participating group is 45 to 54-year-olds. However, when excluding lottery and charity lotteries, the participation rate among 25 to 34-year-olds dominates. This means that product choice and demand are increasingly driven by this younger group. If products are less attractive to this demographic, there is every reason that they might suffer in terms of that share of participation.
Now, a bit about the use of evidence. There has been much discussion about the misuse of data. It is unhelpful, it is distracting and it is frustrating but it has also always been present. In fact, when the Culture, Media, and Sports Select Committee reviewed the Gambling Act White Paper, I wrote extensively to the Committee about various uses of data in the hearings and that was before the GSGB. We’ll be updating our guidance on this, but we will not police every remark that is made or every argument that upsets someone. But we have been repeatedly and routinely reaching out to both organisations and media outlets about their data use, and this is something that we are looking at and with the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). We have also procured the services that we need to look at how we are implementing the Sturgis recommendations in relation to the GSGB and that will be starting now.
In terms of future developments, we published our game machine technical standards consultation in late January after a thorough pre-consultation period. I really do encourage everyone to respond to this consultation, even if you have already been involved in the pre-consultation. We know there could be significant costs associated with the proposals so we really do want the evidence from you on what the impact could be. I cannot over emphasise how important it is you share those responses with us.
We have also published the responses we have received on the back of the 2023 consultation responses, covering customer-led tools, protection of consumer funds, and the LCCP requirements around annual financial contributions to research, prevention and treatment organisations, in relation to the statutory levy. You have heard about the statutory levy already, and the Commission will collect it. You will also hear about online slots stake limits and that is all coming in as well. Tomorrow (28 February 2025) financial vulnerability thresholds fall to £150 per 30-day rolling period and as others have mentioned today, we are still piloting Financial Risk Assessments and that pilot is well advanced. We recently published an update on this.
In the early summer, we will also release our illegal gambling findings, which will include estimates, segmentation, and data on the effectiveness of our interventions.
This year, we’ll also be looking again at GamProtect. This is a really important industry-led tool. The White Paper was very clear about the intentions to mandate if it was not voluntarily adopted. We will be looking very closely this year at those who have not chosen to adopt this because this is an important tool in helping those who are most at risk. It is in the industry's best interest to adopt this as soon as possible.
Additionally, we are in the process of writing to operators both directly and generally about customer communication. We have seen a number of cases where technical issues or security concerns have occurred but customers are being told that this is as a result of Gambling Commission mandated affordability checks when it isn't. This is not helpful. This needs to stop because it undermines the system of regulation and it is why we will see stories in the media about people saying ‘I’m a £10 punter, why have I had an affordability check?’ I cannot understand why they have either and what we are finding is some of this is down to the way consumers are having things explained to them. We have got to tighten this up as it's just going to continue to be unhelpful.
There are a whole host of other things going on this year. DCMS will recruit a new permanent Chair for the Gambling Commission. The UK will also in the near future undergo a Financial Action Task Force assessment on our AML controls, which is critical to maintaining the UK’s standing as a global trading centre.
Now on advertising and marketing, we have had a lot of correspondence, especially regarding actions we have taken around Stake and their sponsorship arrangements, as well as the actions against TGP Europe’s white-label provisions as well. There will be joint work with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Commission on data use for marketing. The ICO are already reviewing the top 1,000 sites in terms of traffic some of which I am sure will belong to people in this room, and I strongly encourage you to review your operations and practices because that assessment is coming and it will be robust.
There remains a lot of work ahead. There is always something that is happening. I now approach my fourth year in this role and when I took it on I really believed that engagement would be key. Meeting people, talking to people, engagement based around openness, transparency and directness. We need to be prepared to have difficult conversations, because this is not easy stuff that we do. So, there is plenty of engagement coming up. We have got our Spring Conference next week where I am also hosting the G7 group of European regulators for a meeting the day before and who will be in attendance. And I think it was said earlier on, about the expansion in regulators talking to each other and this reflects the growing global interconnectedness in regulation. We are working more closely than ever with regulators in the US, across Europe, increasingly in Africa as well and certainly a lot with Australia because frankly, this is a global industry. The challenges are shared and it makes for better regulation overall if it is consistent across markets. That is why we work closely with jurisdictions such as the Irish but also Brazil.
It is an incredibly busy time. We have also got our Operator Engagement Forums, the roundtables that we host and workshops too. It adds up to hundreds of engagements every year. We do this because it is important to have honest conversations, so we can deal with the challenges. Because at the end of the day, we probably all want very similar outcomes. I want to see a well-regulated industry where consumers are well looked after. We need to have a strong, productive and collaborative relationship based on an understanding of what the requirements are. That is why I am always happy to attend events like this.
Thank you for your time today. I am happy to take any questions.
Last updated: 28 February 2025
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