Potential Break-Up of DCMS Puts UK Gambling Reform in Jeopardy

The future of the UK’s gambling reform agenda hangs in the balance as reports emerge of a significant government shake-up that could result in the dissolution of the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)—the department that has overseen gambling regulation since 1992.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief strategist, Morgan McSweeney, is reportedly preparing to reorganize cabinet departments in the wake of the latest local election results. The plans under discussion would see the DCMS dismantled and its various responsibilities reassigned to other Whitehall departments.

Such a move would signal a dramatic shift in government structure and could spell the end of Lisa Nandy’s tenure as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. It would also cast uncertainty over the role of Gambling Minister, Baroness Twycross, just as her office leads a critical phase of reform.

The DCMS has played a central role in the development and rollout of the 2023 Gambling White Paper, which laid the groundwork for modernizing gambling laws in the UK. A number of changes have already been implemented under this agenda, including revised stake limits for online slot games and the introduction of a mandatory levy on gambling companies to fund research, education, and treatment of gambling-related harms.

However, other reforms remain pending. The government has yet to finalize proposals for a new Gambling Ombudsman, and financial risk checks—designed to offer stronger protections for vulnerable players—are still under consultation. The dissolution of the DCMS could significantly delay or derail these ongoing regulatory efforts.

The shake-up would come at a delicate moment, as the government also considers introducing a unified Remote Betting & Gaming Duty to streamline the taxation of online gambling operators. The industry has been expecting input from the DCMS on how this controversial policy would be implemented and regulated.

One particularly complex area that may be affected by the departmental restructuring is the Gambling Commission’s GamProtect project. This initiative aims to create a single customer view to better identify at-risk gambling behavior across different operators. If DCMS functions are split, there is concern about whether sufficient coordination will remain to support such a technically demanding and privacy-sensitive undertaking.

Reports suggest that under the proposed changes, responsibility for regulatory oversight may be passed to the Department for Business and the Treasury, while duties related to social protections could shift to the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions.

With consultations on land-based gambling reforms nearing their conclusion, the timing of the proposed shake-up could not be more critical. The gambling industry is now closely watching for confirmation from Downing Street, wary of how delays or uncertainty could impact compliance and investment planning.

As speculation mounts, stakeholders across the gambling sector are left with more questions than answers about the future of regulation and oversight in the UK. 

By fLEXI tEAM