Bacta Delegation Meets with New Gambling Minister

This morning, a delegation from Bacta, led by President John Bollom, met with Baroness Twycross, the newly appointed Gambling Minister, at her office in Westminster. The meeting, which took place at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, also included Bacta Vice-President Joseph Cullis and Bacta Executive Director (Government Relations) George McGregor.

During the discussions, Baroness Twycross emphasized her intention to foster a "thriving" gambling sector while ensuring that "gambling harms are managed." The Minister was receptive to Bacta’s suggestions on promoting growth within the industry and expressed interest in visiting Family Entertainment Centres (FECs) and Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs) across the country to gain first-hand insight into the sector.

As the Minister is still new to the role, she highlighted that she is taking time to familiarize herself with the key issues and is consulting with officials to ensure due diligence is done before making decisions. However, she appeared open to Bacta’s perspectives on the Gambling White Paper and indicated that further direction would be provided "in the near future."

John Bollom commented on the meeting, stating, “The Minister’s willingness to engage with the sector and consider our input is encouraging. We look forward to continuing these discussions and facilitating visits to showcase the importance of our venues to the local economy and communities.”

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3 October 2024

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