A united front: how the Betting and Gaming Council is helping the industry to speak with one voice

Bringing together the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) and the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has revolutionised the UK industry and is unparalleled in terms of its size and scope. Launched in November to the pomp and fanfare of five safer gambling initiatives led by 10 of the UK’s biggest gambling firms, the BGC followed up this headline-grabbing proposal by revealing it would look to introduce a code of conduct for VIP programmes. In doing so, it hoped to address what has long been considered a contentious issue by the UK Gambling Commission and the many lobbying groups that claimed the schemes fuelled problem gambling.

In December, the trade body made perhaps its boldest move yet by announcing the appointment of then-UK Music CEO Michael Dugher as its first chief executive. A former Labour MP for Barnsley East, Dugher had previously served as a special adviser to the Labour government for an eight-year spell, also holding the post of shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport.

Reflecting on his tenure as UK Music CEO, Dugher jokes about his very first board meeting with the UK music industry’s hierarchy. “Around the table you’ve got everyone, from those representing major record labels and publishers’ businesses to producers, engineers and songwriters, artists and creatives.

“At the time, someone said to me, ‘how are you going to cope with this bunch of people who have fragile egos and diametrically opposed interests?’ My response was, ‘I was in the cabinet for over four years, so this is familiar territory for me’,” he adds.

However, for Dugher prior political skill and understanding wasn’t necessarily the be-all-and-end-all in dealing with the divas and competing interests that are replete in the creative industries. “My political skills were being used much more in managing memberships, about dealing with complex policy issues and presenting our case as effectively as possible.

“It was about getting the best out of people, and some of my softer political skills came to the fore,” he adds. One of the biggest lessons learned during his time at the helm of UK Music was persuading trade body members to work together, often contrary to the natural competition instinct that pervades the industry. It is something he believes is central to the success of all trade bodies and associations.

“You can only really achieve if you can get your membership working together, and it’s something you really must work hard at because you are representing a diverse membership. Inevitably different people have a different take on things or are coming at them from a slightly different angle,” Dugher explains.

Expanding on this reasoning, he points out the yang to the cooperation yin, something that he claims is essential to the success of a trade body: showing members the benefits of working together. “At UK Music, we repeatedly achieved significant things for the industry, but the industry knew this had been achieved in getting everyone to work together. They must see that this works for them,” he explains.

“I think the same is true at the BGC; we must show operators that by working together they can achieve really great things as an industry.”

Shaping the future

As a newly launched trade body, the BGC still has a long way to go to find its feet and as in the industry itself, it is the person at the top of the tree who carries the burden in determining its success or failure. Addressing this demand, Dugher points to a philosophy that has encompassed his professional career, that of proactivity and engagement, something he contends got him those high-profile roles in UK Music and latterly as BGC chief executive officer.

“It’s always better to embrace change, to be part of the future and help to shape it than just to sit and play defence or hide behind the sofa and hope that the storm passes you by. I’ve always been a believer that you’ve got to be on the front foot; you’ve got to engage,” he explains. “We owe that to the people we represent, and, in my opinion, we have an awful lot to contribute and to offer, and hopefully the government is also seeing that.”

A lack of engagement and proactivity is criticism that dogged the founding fathers of the BGC – the RGA and ABB – from the very early stages of their roles in UK gambling. However, Dugher believes engaging with this criticism to form the BGC, together with the positive steps they’ve both taken, is something which the trade bodies do not receive enough credit for.

“The previous trade bodies have done a lot of good work, but they rightly came to the view that it would be better to come together and that building a bigger, better and stronger organisation was the way forward, and for me it was the right decision,” Dugher explains.

Levelling up

Engagement is central to the mandate of the BGC and is something that has been born out in the initiatives it has overseen since Dugher’s appointment as CEO and indeed the changes that he himself has made to the organisation. Part of that engagement initially was the need to urgently create “a capacity and capability” to deal with the pressing issues currently affecting the UK industry and build on the prior good work.

“We needed to bring in some firepower and we’ve been able to bring in some talented people from all kinds of different backgrounds. We’ve pretty much doubled our size in terms of our staff in recent weeks.”

Explaining this need to effectively level up the BGC, Dugher claims that it is driven by a personal love of building infrastructures and teams that can deliver big changes. He points to the development of two “super” departments within the BGC structure, working on different policy areas.

The first of these is led by former RGA CEO Wes Himes and focuses on driving innovation through policy. “Wes’ area is a significant amount of policy work, so we’ve hired several policy experts to help us shape our arguments and to get the data we need from the industry and are pulling in top class submissions to the various parts of government,” Dugher adds.

In the second group, the focus is on driving higher standards and delivering on its safer gambling commitments through both working with the industry in working groups and through parliamentary lobbying. Dugher highlights the appointment of several individuals with both policy and political experience in several areas, including regulatory affairs and government relations.

“We’ve brought in a COO to recognise that we’ve doubled in size and there’s a huge amount of work to do in terms of finance, governance and HR. Really professionalising our operation, making sure that we’re getting the best out of people and the investment the industry is making in us,” he explains.

“We know we’ve got a big job on our hands and part of my job was to get the right people in to help us to do that job,” Dugher adds.

Clearing the way

One of the highest profile appointments the BGC has made since Dugher formally took over in February was to appoint Kevin Schofield as its director of communications and digital. A veteran of the media industry, Schofield has had a stellar 25 years’ experience working for newspapers including The Scotsman, The Herald, Daily Record and The Sun.

“We’ve got a lot of people with a lot of political experience, and I think that’s good. With Kevin, in particular, it’s about giving us some great firepower,” Dugher explains.

Calling Schofield’s appointment an “outstanding” hire for the BGC, Dugher explains that this came out of the need for a heavyweight media operator, someone who understood the importance of communicating online. Expanding on this, Dugher cites the other pillar of what he’s focused on achieving since his appointment: providing clarity in the BGC’s message by stepping up its communication.

“How we communicate directly with people, whether that’s the public or whether it’s with politicians, industry specialists or journalists or whoever else, social media enables you to speak direct. But you need to do that in really a very, very clever way.”

It was an objective that was clear in the minds of those working behind the scenes at the BGC from the very beginning, that of widening its reach and raising its profile. “We’ve worked very, very closely with the government, regulator, different parts of our industry and parliament. We’re already getting on with the job, which I think is proving very effective.”

Industry stakeholders, journalists and operators alike will have undoubtedly seen this. Indeed, BGC tweets have come through on an almost daily basis in response to the many questions being raised about UK gambling. While still in its infancy, the increased digital communication has seen the BGC launch its own website and encourage member firms to share important updates on BGC initiatives through their own media.

Discussing the results so far, Dugher cites many successes but concedes there is still further work to be done. As he explains: “For me it’s important because that’s how many of those people consume our information, and if we see stories running that are just not correct or misrepresenting the industry or getting facts wrong, we need to be able to report that swiftly.

“We need to promote all the good things that the industry is doing. We’ve got to take charge of our own success, and I think that we’re trying to do that as well. We need to engage with people, respond well to the concerns and issues that people might have, and our digital communications enables us to do all of that,” Dugher adds.

Building relationships

Regardless of the new appointments made to the business, the success or failure of any association can depend on building a strong relationship with its members and industry stakeholders. It is a responsibility Dugher takes very seriously, with an important thread running through his entire career that the BGC, like UK Music before it, must be everyone’s trade body.

“We make our members feel that they have a full importance, a full say and that we can represent their company and their interests. No individual or operator is going to sign up to a collective position unless it is in their interest or if they feel that their interests have been considered or listened to,” he explains.

After all, a trade body is only as good as its membership. Members implement policies, contribute both financially and personally, and Dugher explains the BGC works with its members on an almost daily basis.

This feeds back into the engagement that punctuates the BGC’s day-to-day operations. However, there will always be cases where BGC members will choose to speak on their own, be it due to necessity or to their own activities.

“There will always be instances where operators will rightly want to speak for themselves, we understand that. Equally, they understand that there are many issues where it’s better to speak as an industry with one voice and that a collective approach is the right one.”

In addition, the BGC must maintain a working relationship with the UK’s de facto policeman of the gambling industry, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), something Dugher describes as both constructive and built on fairness. “They have a job to do and we absolutely recognise and respect that. I think they work extremely hard at that job and they deserve some credit for their work.”

The relationship between the BGC and the UKGC has been enhanced by its participation in the working group on VIP incentives, which has resulted in significant changes to member practices. However, the BGC is not afraid of calling for more action from the UKGC, most notably in its call for incentivisation of good operator conduct, and more particularly in the area of responsible gambling.

“It’s about having a framework where it is recognised that the regulator wants the industry to respond well and to lead well on standards, and if it then does so, that the regulator will respond accordingly.

“For me, this is the right way forward for our industry. It’s about recognising that we all have an incentive in higher standards and in safer gambling. We understand that as an industry and I think the UKGC understands that as a regulator,” he adds.

The other side of the divide?

As operators have found across the world, gambling can be viewed by non-industry insiders as being very divisive, almost to the point of being underhand. This often unfair assessment can colour everything from regulation to public opinion. The UK is no exception to this, with critics of gambling lining up to pour scorn on operators, despite those same firms making huge strides in protecting players.

The BGC is itself not immune to this criticism and its increased digital footprint often plays host to vociferous criticism and debate from many different groups. For his part, Dugher acknowledges the need for lively debate where legitimate concerns are aired. “It’s our job to engage with those people and to seek to reassure but also where necessary to drive further changes and respond accordingly.”

However, the BGC chief has not held back from answering what he calls the tiny minority of prohibitionists in UK gambling, both through the BGC’s own site and on Twitter. He claims these people are “obsessed” with ending gambling in the UK. “They don’t believe that, for example, you should be able to have a bet online. It’s just a handful of a noisy minority who are part of the anti-gambling lobby and who are prohibitionist in their thinking,” he explains. “Now, there’s not much I can do about them; you can’t meet a prohibitionist halfway.”

Discussing this impasse, Dugher asserts the data on problem gambling simply doesn’t lend itself to the prohibitionist approach, as the number of players experiencing harm is far outweighed by those enjoying gambling safely. Indeed, in overtly targeting regulated operators, including BGC members, the prohibitionist lobby is focusing its attacks on the wrong people. “One of the things that really worries me is what they could be doing with their time, but they never focus on the black market.

“For example, the offshore legal operators who don’t adhere to any of the standards that regulated BGC members do in terms of zero tolerance on under-18 betting and other safer gambling measures,” he points out.

The BGC CEO also cites a disparity in the treatment of the most popular form of UK gambling, as proven by statistics time and time again: the UK National Lottery. Explaining this viewpoint, he continues: “It does seem to me slightly curious that some of the critics do give a free pass to other aspects of gambling and instead to the point of obsession. They just focus on beating up the regulated betting sector, which actually is the most regulated place in the world to bet and has the safest standards of anywhere in the world,” he adds.

For Dugher, it’s not a case of reaching a definitive point where all standards will be met and all critics answered. It’s about the industry not being distracted and doing more to show it is rising to the challenge. This approach is reflected in the work the BGC is doing in respect of problem gambling education and treatment support, as seen in its launching pledges and a recent education partnership with YGAM and GamCare.

“That [gambling-related harm] is an awful thing to see. If it’s one person, it’s one too many so we always must understand that as an industry. There are some people who get into enormous difficulty. Our job is just to get our head down and to work really hard to make sure that we are the safest possible place to gamble and that we do everything in our power to help protect potentially vulnerable people,” Dugher explains.

Red alert

The coronavirus pandemic has hit all aspects of life across the world, affecting livelihoods and forcing entire industries to pull down their shutters. The gambling sector is no exception and has been dealt a hammer blow which has left many international operators reeling, after sports betting was wiped off the map.

Reflecting on the impact of the UK lockdown, Dugher cites it as having a “huge impact” on BGC operations, with the emphasis shifting from lobbying for change to protecting operators and employees. “Obviously, our priority as a trade body was to the welfare of industry staff to make sure they were safe and protected, but also to protect their jobs and their livelihoods economically as well, so we lobbied very hard in terms of employment support,” he explains.

These were efforts which would bear fruit in the government’s reversal of an earlier decision to deny betting shops business rates relief, something that the trade body lobbied hard against and ultimately won. “We wanted to make sure that we’ve protected as many of those jobs as possible, that we still have an industry there to emerge from Covid-19 and we’ve worked very hard to achieve that,” Dugher explains.

There have been concerns raised in some quarters that there would be a huge increase in online gambling, with those retail players transitioning to online and a resultant increase in problem gambling due to the pandemic. Answering those concerns, Dugher states that the BGC was alive and “absolutely alert” to the need to take swift and decisive action.

“We introduced not one but 10 safer gambling Covid-19 pledges. We’ve been stepping up safer gambling messages, interventions, monitoring and really trying to be alert to that potential problem,” he explains.

Aside from its early lockdown pledges, the BGC also hit the headlines in April with its decision to voluntarily suspend all TV and radio advertising for a six-week period in response to Covid-19 lockdown measures. This initiative is the latest piece in the jigsaw of trade body efforts to answer the call to protect consumers during the pandemic.

“The good news is, as the Gambling Commission announced recently, there’s no evidence that there’s been an increase in problem gambling during Covid-19. That’s extremely welcome news. Overall gambling levels have plummeted, obviously with the closures and with a lack of live sport, [and] online gambling is down significantly,” Dugher explains.

Indeed, the BGC chief asserts that operators should be given more credit for their role, with the BGC acting as cheerleader for industry efforts during this challenging period. “It’s not necessarily about praise, even the most wildly optimistic of our operators was not expecting to be praised for their actions.

“However, I think they do deserve some credit for the swiftness and the scale of their response and for the seriousness of which they attach their responsibilities in terms of protecting customers, protecting the most vulnerable and promoting safe gambling and higher standards,” Dugher adds.

The role of charitable initiatives has also been thrust into the limelight during the pandemic, with the BGC coordinating a Virtual Grand National event, which raised over £2.9m for the NHS. Explaining the BGC’s role in orchestrating the industry’s efforts, Dugher highlights numerous examples of operator initiatives aimed at helping “the real heroes” as he calls them.

“We wanted to provide some light relief to the country, while also helping out the NHS and it was a fantastic surprise that we were able to raise so much,” Dugher adds.

Looking beyond the lockdown

At the time of writing, the UK is taking tentative steps to end the two-month lockdown, with UK horseracing resuming from 1 June and betting shops expected to be among the first retail outlets to reopen on 15 June. Discussing the relaxing of lockdown, Dugher reveals his own long-standing love of horseracing, while insisting that its return will likely win the sport a brand new generation of fans.

“I’m looking forward to the return of sports – I think it’d be great for this country. We are a country of sport lovers and I look forward to cheering the return of horseracing,” he adds.

However, the BGC will not be taking its foot off the accelerator in protecting consumers after lockdown, but instead will be stepping up efforts to drive up industry standards. “Our overriding priority during this period is about customer safety, making sure that we are vigilant and determined to promote safer gambling through all the remaining lockdown period and as we emerge from that.

“Other than that, it’s about ensuring that we deliver our mission statement. The BGC is still in its early days and it’s taking those baby steps to be able to step up to that challenge and to represent all different parts of the industry,” Dugher adds.

Emerging from the challenges of Covid-19 will be a very formative experience for the industry and, as has already been seen, it has accelerated the drive towards online gambling. It has also been a watershed for the BGC, one it has navigated through proactivity and engagement and one which will form a blueprint for future conduct.