Stephanie Peacock was appointed as the new gambling minister within the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport. She succeeds Stuart Andrew, who resigned at the end of May following the announcement of early general elections and the dissolution of parliament.
Stuart Andrew was appointed as the new “gambling minister” in March 2023, succeeding Paul Scully. He was the sixth minister to oversee the revision of the gambling law. A month after his appointment, the long-awaited white paper on the revision was published.
After British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the elections at the end of May, Andrew stepped down as the minister of gambling. The elections resulted in a landslide victory for the centre-left Labour party.
The day after Labour’s victory, Stephanie Peacock was appointed as the new gambling minister under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. She will work under the leadership of Lisa Nandy, who was elected as the Secretary of State for the Department.
Peacock’s primary task as gambling minister is to implement the measures outlined in the white paper. Key measures include the introduction of affordability checks at online casinos in the UK. Despite resistance from the gambling industry, these checks will be enforced, starting with net deposits of £500 per month from August 2024 and decreasing to £150 per month in February 2025.
Additionally, new rules for online slots aim to reduce the speed and intensity of products in online gambling, making them fairer. These rules include a ban on autoplay and functions that speed up time.
