DCMS has named Fiona Twycross as minister for gambling, after a day of uncertainty over whether Baroness Twycross would keep the brief in the reshuffle. The appointment, reported by Public Gaming after the department announced its new ministerial team, ends the speculation that had followed earlier refusals to confirm her status.
Lisa Nandy remains Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The same ministerial line-up gave Stephanie Peacock the sport, media, civil society and youth brief, Chris Bryant the creative industries, arts and tourism portfolio, and Vicky Foxcroft a DCMS role with no portfolio yet specified.
Before the confirmation, NEXT.io had said Peacock and Foxcroft appeared to be possible replacements if Twycross did not get the gambling job. That report also said Twycross would stay at DCMS and that she had been given an additional brief as Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office.
The uncertainty mattered because the gambling minister sits inside a department with direct responsibility for the sector’s main regulator. The Gambling Commission’s corporate governance framework says the Secretary of State and other DCMS ministers are accountable to Parliament for matters concerning the commission, and that the relationship is governed by the Gambling Act 2005 and the National Lottery etc. Act 1993.
It also says the commission must consult the Secretary of State before issuing or revising the statement of principles under section 23 of the 2005 Act, and before issuing or revising its codes of practice under section 24.
Industry reaction had already begun to settle around the broader DCMS team. The Betting & Gaming Council welcomed Nandy’s continuation and John Healey’s appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer, with chief executive Grainne Hurst saying she was pleased to see Nandy remain because of the constructive relationship the council had developed with her.
Hurst also said the regulated betting, casino and online sector supports 109,000 jobs, contributes £6.8 billion in gross value added and generates £4 billion in tax each year. She added that the sector invests millions more in sport, including racing, and the council congratulated Simon Cox on becoming chair of the British Horseracing Authority.
Twycross has previously signalled a growth-in-regulated-sector approach. In the Lords she said: “We would like to see a regulated, licensed sector grow.” She also told Lord Filkin in a debate on gambling advertising that the public would probably want less advertising, but that it was not really her role as minister to do just what the public thinks.
