Bacta is sending an urgent message to members to encourage them to participate in a specially convened webinar which will provide the latest analysis on what the General Election means for the reforms contained within the White Paper at the same time as outlining a battle plan to engage with parliamentary candidates in the most effective ways. The webinar will take place at 11am on Tuesday 4 June, a calendar month ahead of the country’s snap General Election.

Bacta Executive Director, George McGregor believes that the focus should be on lobbying Labour candidates in constituencies where Bacta members have venues as well as those constituencies where Bacta members and their staff live. He said : “As President John Bollom stated last week a snap General Election was always the biggest danger to getting the reforms contained within the Gambling White Paper passed into law. By calling an early election Rishi Sunak caught virtually everyone – including his Cabinet – by surprise, and a process which started over three years ago fell approximately a fortnight short of it crossing the finish line. Assuming that the opinion polls are accurate and the country will have a new Labour government our message to party candidates should be to ‘get the job done.’

He added: “We know from our dialogue with both the Gambling Minister Stuart Andrew and Labour Shadow Gambling Minister Steph Peacock that there’s cross-party support for the modernisation of the land-based sector’s outdated gambling regulations. The reforms contained within the White Paper will address those issues, they will future proof the industry and  as a consequence they will enable Bacta members to continue to support the High Street and seaside towns.”

“Bacta members have made an outstanding contribution to the White Paper proposals and they can continue to make their voice heard at this crucial juncture for the industry. Next week’s webinar will provide guidance on how to extend our campaign and engage with what will be a fresh intake of prospective MPs.”