Second Jobs, Gifts and Gambling

The gambling industry was in a mood of giving this summer, but what do they expect from MPs in return?

Recent revelations in the media have drawn attention to the number of MPs who undertake paid work in addition to their parliamentary duties. Detailed rules are laid out to regulate these roles to ensure there is no conflict of interest.

The public rightly expect their Members of Parliament to represent their interests, and by extension, the interests of the political party that member represents. There are legitimate questions surrounding those members who have second jobs and whether these may influence decisions they make in parliament. Members may not advocate directly on behalf of their employers but there are some grey areas. For example, they are allowed to vote against a bill that regulates the industry in which they are employed.

As we await the government’s white paper on the review of the Gambling Act 2005, and the subsequent legislation it will inform, it looks as if the gambling industry has been busy building a coalition against reform.

The Register of Interests reveals that two MPs are paid to be consultants by the gambling industry. Both are listed as providing advice on ‘responsible’ or ‘safer’ gambling, concepts which are promoted by the industry but which are disputed by many of those working in charities and public health organisations to preventing gambling-related harms.

It is unlikely that two members of parliament will be able to sway the government from implementing the sorts of recommendations produced by the Lords Select Committee on Gambling. More worrying is the considerable number of MPs who have received gifts from the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) or large gambling companies such as Entain. The House of Commons Register of Interests reveals that twenty-seven members of parliament have received gifts from either the gambling lobby groups, gambling companies, or industries which are heavily reliant on gambling.

The gifts received are rarely less than £1,000, with the most extravagant gift being the £3,457 received by twelve MPs to watch the England v Denmark match and to receive free hospitality. Since the most recent general election, gifts from the gambling industry total more than £100,000 with the overwhelming majority given to MPs in the summer of 2021. Hardly a surprise given the ongoing review of gambling.

The question is what does the industry want in return? It does not take a cynic to believe that the likely explanation is not that the gambling industry simple has a big and generous heart. The timing and amounts raise more than eyebrows and I am sceptical that these gifts are ever given without expecting something in return.

In a campaign as factious as gambling reform, the industry is in the business of looking for parliamentary advocates to protect their interests.

For me, no gift could ever overcome the shock I felt when I first met the family of a young man who took his life as a result of gambling, and I would invite those MPs who have accepted the industry’s shilling to visit the ‘Gambling with Lives Remembering Page’ and look at the faces of the young men and women whose lives were cut short as a result of gambling.

I can only imagine how many of them would have loved to have also watched the England v Denmark match as they enjoyed free hospitality.