UK: Labour Deputy Leader quits, leaving questions over gambling review

Tom Watson, Deputy Leader of the Labour party announced Wednesday his resignation and that he will not be sitting in the upcoming General Election.

The news has implications for the gambling industry, given that it was Watson who was spearheading a review into the industry, and claiming a new approach towards gaming legislation was needed, saying the 2005 Gambling Act was ‘just not working’.

The biggest operators even responded to his ambition of raising £100m in funds for problem gambling treatment, research and prevention.

However Watson’s Labour Party is facing considerable internal turmoil at this crunch time of the election, one of its former MPs is pleading for voters to support the opposition Conservative Party rather than Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Watson himself survived a botched attempt to remove him from the Deputy Leader role just back in September, SBC News reports.

In his resignation letter, Watson said he is not leaving politics but will continue to write about public health issues, citing gambling as one of these. It was an issue that the Labour leader and potential next Prime Minister has noted.

As for who will take up the mantel of Watson planned reform of the gambling industry, which included a wholesale revision of the white label model and blanket ban of football shirt sponsorship, the expertise within the Labour Party as it stands remains unclear. The second highest profile speaker on gambling issues is Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris, who is aggressively campaigning for greater restrictions on online gambling.