Is Jacob Rees-Mogg Killing ‘Nanny State’ Gambling Review? Last-Minute Intervention May Delay Gambling Laws Review
- Last-minute intervention by Jacob Rees-Mogg on gambling laws review
- The bill could now be stopped or even neutralized after complaints from Rees-Mogg
- Sources said ‘unjustified intervention in people’s lives and should be dumped’
- Iain Duncan Smith said it was ‘nonsense’ to describe the curbs as a nanny state
A landmark review of gambling laws appears to be delayed again.
After a last-minute intervention by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the bill could now be stopped or even neutralized, a source said last night.
The Government Efficiency Minister is said to have complained that the proposals for ‘nanny state’ are an unwarranted intervention in people’s lives and should be dumped.
The long-awaited review of Britain’s outdated gambling rules will be published next week. But Mr Rees-Mogg has demanded further details of proposed measures, such as limits on bets placed in online casinos, before the package can be released.
A Whitehall source said: ‘Rees-Mogg is trying to block it. He tells MPs that it’s all a bunch of nonsense from the nanny state.
“It’s ideological for him – he doesn’t think the state has any role in tackling gambling problems, despite the misery it causes. For now, he’s using delaying tactics – raising a whole bunch of questions about the details – but it seems his agenda is to block it.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the government’s minister for efficiency, is alleged to have complained that the ‘nanny state’ proposals regarding the country’s gambling laws are an unwarranted intervention in people’s lives and should be dumped.
Any delay in the assessment will fuel concerns that a fight against the gambling industry could be further weakened.
Campaigners are already alarmed by reports that a proposed tax to help treat problem gamblers could be scrapped.
And there is concern that a planned ban on gambling companies sponsoring Premier League football clubs and teams in other sports could be replaced by voluntary measures. However, a planned limit on bets at online casinos of between £2 and £5 has so far been preserved, bringing the industry in line with machines in high street gambling shops.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said it was “nonsense” to describe the curbs as a nanny state intervention. He added that UK gambling laws are hopelessly outdated and unable to cope with the explosion in online betting.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said it was ‘nonsense’ to describe the curbs as a nanny state intervention
Sir Iain said: ‘Gambling companies are behaving horribly. People need protection because they get into terrible trouble. We have a situation where companies are making huge sums of money from people’s misery – some of these people are in huge debt and even commit suicide.”
The Daily Mail has long been campaigning to curb the scourge of gambling addiction.
A source close to Mr Rees-Mogg denied he was trying to block the reforms, but acknowledged that he had asked for clarification.
MPs were told yesterday that 500 problem gamblers have committed suicide since the review began last year.
SNP MP Peter Grant said: “I’ve heard the reasons and apologies for the delay in publishing the White Paper, but frankly, none of those apologies stand up to any scrutiny. Every day of delay costs another human life.’
Commons leader Mark Spencer said the plans would come out “in the coming weeks.”