The UK’s 2023 Gambling White Paper: a regulatory model or a warning?

The white paper came with a dramatic title: “High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age.” It was April 2023 and, after much delay, the British government had finally published a 268-page document of dense text outlining its plans to improve the U.K. gambling industry, addressing everything from advertising to addiction. The reforms, which were driven at least partly by the online gambling revolution brought about by the invention of the smartphone, were designed to protect addicts, children, and vulnerable people from the dangers of gambling — and they could set a precedent that would echo around other gambling industries the world over.