The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has welcomed plans for the modernisation of casinos and called for swift implementation. 

This comes after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), within its White Paper consultation response on land-based betting and gaming, included measures related to the modernisation of casinos. 

Other proposals included the introduction of cashless payments, new rules on gaming machines allocations and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting for the first time. 

The UK Government also said the Gambling Commission would consult on player protection measures relating to when debit card payments are used on gaming machines to ensure correct standards. 

The BGC has welcomed these proposals but has called on ministers to act swiftly to ensure businesses improve what they can offer customers. 

Outgoing CEO and Acting Chair of the BGC Michael Dugher gave his thoughts, saying: “Casinos are a vital pillar of the UK’s leisure, hospitality and tourism sector and we welcome the Government’s consultation response which is positive progress on the modest, long-overdue but mission-critical modernisation reforms needed for the land-based casino sector to compete and thrive. 

“While we welcome these proposals, attention must now shift to the timeline for implementing policy changes and we urge the Government to urgently set out a clear timeline for progressing the relevant legislation to make them reality for our members. 

“Too many casinos have sadly closed in recent years as successive administrations failed to deliver the changes we needed to protect jobs and growth. The BGC and our fantastic casino members have campaigned for these new measures for years to allow businesses to modernise, innovate and grow, and we strongly welcome the Government’s approach to ensure casinos are better placed to make that happened.” 

The BGC this week also announced that a charity football match between lobby journalists and Members of Parliament at QPR’s Loftus Road, sponsored by bet365, raised over £50,000 for SportsAid.