Coinslot speaks to John White of Bacta, Miles Baron and Paul Kelly to gauge their reaction on the surprising general election result.

 

The industry’s trade bodies have reacted to the election result, some with more shock than others, but all consistent on the need for continued and effective governance.

Indeed, CEO of Bacta John White said the result was “totally unexpected”, with him predicting May would win by a landslide before the event. After reality set in however, White was quick to start following all the moving parts left in the election’s wake.

“We have been keeping a very close eye on the ministerial appointments,” he said. “Karen Bradley has gone back to DCMS so she will be well aware of the issues, she will have already got her views lined up on this, as will Tracey Crouch on the assumption she returns.”

This is in anticipation for any news concerning the triennial review, which was put on the backburner as the snap election was called – although a consultation document should already be completed, which upon publication will hopefully reveal the DCMS’ stance on the matter.

“There is no obvious reason why the review of stakes and prizes consultation document should not be published,” continuedWhite. “It fits with the philosophy of Theresa May and it fits with every other political party, with all of them making a commitment to reduce the stake to £2. It’s an issue that could quite easily slide through parliament, so I don’t see any obstacles other than administrative ones.”

While the outcome regarding the stake of B2s is not something White wanted to speculate on, Bacta is pushing for the results of the triennial review to be released before Parliament’s summer recess on 20 July. While most analysts think it will come later that this – in Autumn, White was almost certain the result will be in the majority’s favour.

“I think it would be astonishing if there wasn’t a substantial reduction in the stake on FOBTs, you just need to look at the evidence,” he concluded.

Miles Baron, CEO of the Bingo Association, was less shocked by the result, even following through on his original conviction with a winning bet on the election’s final outcome, although he does not see the government’s current state as a victory.

“I don’t think anybody welcomes a government that appears to be unstable and not in power to do what it needs to do,” he explained, before turning to the election’s more optimistic aspects. “I’m pleased to say, however, that looking through the individual results not too many people have lost their seats or been reshuffled as a result of the election, which at least to a degree allows for consistency in relationships. So from that point of view it’s not like Brexit where there were seismic changes, unless of course there is another election and a change in government.”

Over at BALPPA, CEO Paul Kelly shared the worry of an unstable government, as it may slow down the trade bodies progress on its agenda. “We’re a little bit disappointed that we haven’t had a decisive result, I’m not really sure at this stage whether we’ll be able to move our several agendas forward, because there’s so many things the government is concentrating on,” he explained. “I don’t see any acceleration of anything that we were involved in, this election has really thrown up more questions than answers.”