iGaming Daily

Joe Streeter (00:04.987)
Remember that.

Ted (00:06.338)
Yes, yes.

Joe Streeter (00:10.834)
Good afternoon and welcome to the iGaming Daily brought to you by OptiMove, the number one CRM solution for the iGaming industry. Today we're going to discuss a sensitive but important topic and as the UK government concludes a breakneck November announcing that it has determined the design of a statutory levy on problem gambling and introduced £2 and £5 stake limits on online slots.

This was recognised as the most sensitive matter to be resolved by the gambling review. The UK government unveiled the new structure of the levy on research, education and treatment, the RET levy, and it will be led by the NHS as the chief commissioner.

Joe Streeter (00:58.214)
I'm joined by Ted Menmure from the editor of SBC gaming to discuss this further and to kind of break it down and to see where the industry goes to have a look at the industry reaction. Ted, let's go straight into it. Firstly, happy December. I hope you are ready for Christmas. Yeah, your initial reaction to this news, quite big news, your initial reaction.

Ted (01:24.269)
Yeah, well, many people kind of view this as a November surprise. I don't in terms of the stake limits. That's because I think the 12 month transition period that was announced in September has kind of passed. Plus, as we know from the PLC's reports, the majority of operators have implemented two pound or five pound stake limits as of September and they have kind of transitioned to a new system. So.

That was kind of, that's kind of been priced in for UK gambling. The red levy announcement is a surprise somewhat. I don't think that anyone kind of expected the Labour government to determine the design of the levy in its first 100 days in office. And it's something that we're to look at today and we're to go through how it's going to be allocated. So glad to be here, Joe.

Joe Streeter (02:19.708)
Yeah, definitely. think we've kind of come to expect the unexpected with this government at the moment. Lots of kind of surprise announcements. Just how off guard will the gambling industry be caught by this announcement with the RET levy?

Ted (02:37.699)
You see, I don't think it's about being off guard. I think it's about recognizing the sensitivities of the Brett Levy's design and what it's imposing, not so much on UK gambling, but on the structures of problem gambling and who are the stakeholders involved in problem gambling as the danger or the main threat of UK gambling.

So it was always going to be the trickiest and most sensitive part of the Gambling Review's white paper. And it was definitely the part of the consultation that which generated the biggest, the most diverse response for the UK government. I think that's why it's a surprise that I think it came out in November.

Joe Streeter (03:31.132)
Yeah, I think the reason it's so sensitive is because those at the center of, you know, the consequences of this, if you like, are those that need support most, those that are most vulnerable. And that's why really the issue is so emotive. And that's why it's just so important that we get it as close to right as possible.

Yeah, so I guess with that, can you kind of take us through the determination of the the RET levy? Like, what did we get from this?

Ted (04:01.967)
Okay, so direct levy will now be imposed as a statutory duty on UK licensed operators. That means that a 1.1 fee will be applied to online operators and software providers and...

Ted (04:24.335)
Sorry, sorry, fuck off. Fuck off. Fuck off.

Sorry.

Ted (04:47.861)
One second, one second.

Ted (05:06.584)
Where were you sir?

Joe Streeter (05:07.4)
Yeah, with that Ted, obviously this is the most sensitive element of the gambling review and understandably so, but that's it's so important that we get it as right as we possibly can and we take the most effective approach possible. And with that, can you kind of just take us through the determination of the RET levy? What did we kind of end up with?

Ted (05:24.27)
Mm-hmm.

Ted (05:31.919)
Okay, so the government will impose a statutory levy to fund research, education and treatment projects and organizations in which it targets, it seeks to raise circa 105 million to 110 million for RET services. As such, the levy will apply a 1.1 fee on online operators and software providers.

and 0.5 % of fee on land-based gambling operators such as casinos and retail bookmakers. The allocation of the ROT funds will be 50 % directed to the NHS England in its role as Chief Commissioner, 30 % towards gambling harm prevention, be it campaigns,

training and frontline support services and finally 20 % will be allocated to the UK Research and Innovation Institute to establish new research programmes for RET.

And these are aimed at delivering kind of evidence-based insights to shape future policies and regulations. Now, I believe that this is the area that's gonna that will receive the most scrutiny. And it's actually the area that changes the levy most from its current operating structure to its new framework.

Joe Streeter (06:53.224)
Okay, Ted, and obviously there was lots of kind of backlash and response from this decision, some positive, some negative. One of the areas that I largely only heard positive feedback from was regarding the splits, 50 % treatment, 30 % prevention, 20 % research, as you say. What did you think of these splits? Do you think they got it right in terms of these splits? how important is that? Obviously,

20%, the lowest figure, but how important is that research gonna be moving forward?

Ted (07:27.363)
Well, I there's more kind of transparency to how the levy is now structured. There's more kind of clarity about where the funds go, which is a good thing, and which is something that the gambling industry always wanted. The other thing about the statutory element of it is that it ends the debate on the contribution of each operator towards the levy itself.

So I think that that is progress for the industry. Everyone will now contribute in some form towards research, education, treatment of problem gambling. The NHS takes its role as the chief commissioner in RET and its design and its structure and where it will apply funding for projects and organisations.

The main change here is the 20 % on UK research for policy and insights. And that's been a subject matter where in the previous voluntary scheme, the insights and research were left more to kind of gamble away as the commissioning charity in which they kind of provided the frontline support, the frontline funds for research projects.

how insights were developed and also determining the factors of problem gambling in itself. So that's going to be the area that changes the most. I think that's where the academic eyes are going to rest on that 20 % of the funding.

Joe Streeter (09:01.82)
Yeah, that is going to be a very interesting, a very important part of kind of developments in UK gambling. wanted to kind of touch on something you said in terms of the clarity and every operator kind of contributing to this. Is there a risk though with that clarity, we may sacrifice some funding, the levy may end up leading to less money going towards the rent.

Ted (09:32.175)
I don't think it's this, I think the debate here isn't about funding, it's about efficiency and what works and where the change is needed. going from the vault, look.

Joe Streeter (09:38.95)
Okay.

Ted (09:44.323)
The criticisms of the voluntary scheme have been long standing and it's been in place for 20 years, but changing a structure that's been around for so long, in which we've seen a lot of progress on the research of problem gambling, on also kind of the boundaries of how problem gambling is debated and how it is treated by everyone working in that area has changed immensely over the past 20 years. And it's now going to go and take a further evolution by going

going into the structure of the NHS. And I think that's the concern. And as we heard in the consultations, so much pointed, so many anxieties pointed to the ring fencing of funds for third parties that don't necessarily...

provide a direct response to the problems, right? But are looking at kind of the granular details of problem gambling, of treatment support, and how it should be more effective and how it should be applied within the UK, which is a very kind of complicated process nonetheless. And we saw Gamcares Chair, Margot Daly come out and say, look, the government has to be aware of this, that it's not starting something from scratch. It's taking a platform

that has deficiencies but has many efficiencies in itself, it can work. It has been applied at the UK level, right? So you've got to make sure that if you're changing anything, that it does not disrupt kind of the components of the network that has been created.

Joe Streeter (11:22.696)
Yeah. Yeah. So it's, I understand it completely what you mean. So it's not a complete transformation that the wheels kind of need to keep moving, but in a more effective way. And regardless of kind of the, the determinations that we've already seen, what are, as we move forward with this, this, this bill, I guess, as we move forward with development, what are the outstanding sensitivities and concerns around the, red levy design?

Ted (11:51.019)
I think the sensitivities and anxieties are real. And it always comes back to you're taking a network that's been effective and we're now going to drop it and drag it into essentially the NHS and the NHS system that's kind of being reconfigured by the government as by the current government.

And the NHS is a much bigger structure. And it's how will the NHS kind of oversee the development of RET projects and organizations, the funding, but also how it treats...

the overall subject matter of problem gambling in the UK and how it designs its resources and its structures to support the third parties. So the organizations such as YGAM, GAMCare, that provide the frontline for treatment, Gordon Moody as well. These are organizations that have been birthed from the voluntary scheme. And just to say, look, that connection is now going to move to the NHS. How will that be disrupted by

such a large transfer.

Joe Streeter (13:10.44)
Yeah, I think that's a really important point. I think, you know, these, the third parties, it's vital that their role is still pivotal because they just have such a deeper understanding of the industry and an understanding that in terms of, you know, addiction and problem gambling, there's no one size fits all approach. It's really got to be adjusted and evolved for each person that is kind of

kind of at risk, everybody is different. yeah, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens now. Yeah, go on, sorry.

Ted (13:39.147)
Mm-hmm.

Ted (13:45.465)
But if I can just add to that because you've got to actually, the other thing I think that.

the stakeholders are very aware of is that this is this gigantic structure of the NHS and how it operates in providing kind of key services for healthcare in the UK. Can that be kind of conditioned towards problem gambling as an addiction and the risks and harms of problem gambling? know, under GambleAware, we saw a lot of focus and emphasis on localised support.

and you know treating kind of each region differently.

seeing where the research and data points to, what are the triggers, what are the conditions affecting each community differently. Now, that transfer, when I said to the NHS, can that be applied in a much bigger organisation? And also the pressures that the NHS faces are very different to the pressures faced by third parties such as charities, right? We see what a huge political organisation the NHS has become, regardless of who's in power.

And kind of that determination by just getting results for the NHS, I think that could be quite detrimental to the structure of problem gambling in the UK and who works within RET.

Joe Streeter (15:06.747)
Wow, okay, yeah, that's...

Okay, yeah, that's incredibly insightful. Are you kind of nervous about moving forward? I sense a nervousness on how gambling care kind of fits into this giant NHS machine.

Ted (15:26.027)
I mean, there are anxieties, yes. And I can see that from speaking to the stakeholders and the third party, the third sector involved in these.

For me, it comes down to how the rent levy and its structure will be reviewed in the coming years and actually the flexibility of the government.

in the response to levy, also kind of like to taking kind of wider opinions and not to be scared to kind of review structures of what is working, what isn't working. Because at the end of the day, it's actually quite easy. It's actually, the review should be about, are we becoming more effective at providing key services for problem-gambling treatment support?

And that's how should be evaluated. And to that I'd add that look, the NHS wanted a clean break from gambling. It got it. But it must be very, very kind of transparent in its review of the whole program going forward.

Joe Streeter (16:29.135)
Okay, yeah, I guess that flexibility is vital. That's what will be key to ensuring this kind of new relationship, this kind of new structure can work. Having that flexibility, being able to adapt, being able to kind of work and change things if things aren't going right. So I guess just generally to kind of finish us off Ted, do you anticipate that the new ret levy will kind of lead to improvements?

And also do anticipate that we will see adjustments in the structure in recent years. And what type of friction will we see when those type of adjustments are sought to be made?

Ted (17:10.095)
I think the answer to this question is how the NHS stages its approach to implementing the red levy. Also how it accommodates its new partners, depending on how long, not only, we're not just talking about Gamble Away here, but we're talking about regional treatment support services, people that provide training for frontline at work, how these smaller integrations can fit in within the NHS's framework for problem gambling.

which I, I think kind of looking back at the NHS, it still has to kind of define it's, it's outright strategy for dealing with this kind of, problem gambling as a, as, as an addiction, but on a, on a national level. so I think that's stage one, just how do they, how do you accommodate kind of new partners? The review will be critical, but also,

I think that we should gauge the improvement overall in how treatment of problem gambling.

is viewed within kind of local communities and whether we kind of created a better platform and a more open scheme for people looking for treatment and support. So we're not just looking at it as are they accessing the NHS, but how much help are they getting at work? How much help are they getting from the local communities? Where can they go through? Is access as accessible as possible?

Joe Streeter (18:37.221)
Okay. Yeah, I guess that comes down somewhat to the 30 % right? The prevention rather than the, that's where that will come down and yeah, just continuing to kind of end that stigma around seeking help. That will be at the center of that. Ted, I thank you ever so much for your insights today. Really important stuff, sensitive stuff. So yeah, thank you ever so much for your time and yeah, let's see how this develops and be sure to kind of...

Ted (18:43.819)
Yum.

Joe Streeter (19:07.439)
Stay tuned to the iGaming Daily to continue these discussions.

Ted (19:11.554)
Thank you.