Vicky Foxcroft Set to Become the UK’s New Gambling Minister, BGC Says

Vicky Foxcroft, the MP for Lewisham North, has been welcomed by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) as the UK’s next Gambling Minister, replacing Baroness Twycross. The catch is that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has not confirmed the appointment yet, so for now this is a BGC statement rather than a formal government announcement.

1. The BGC said it looks forward to working with Foxcroft and pointed to her support for a “balanced approach” to gambling regulation: protect vulnerable people, especially children, while allowing adults who choose to gamble to do so safely.
2. The council also praised Baroness Fiona Twycross, who Foxcroft is expected to replace if the appointment is confirmed. BGC CEO Grainne Hurst thanked Twycross for “the thoughtful, open and constructive way” she engaged with the UK gambling industry.
3. According to Hurst, Twycross met staff and visited venues across the country during her tenure to see the industry’s contribution to jobs, investment, local economies and British sport, as well as the entertainment it provides to millions of people.
4. Foxcroft has long argued for tighter gambling rules. In 2018, she called for a ban on credit cards for betting and for banks to have the power to block problem gamblers from making gambling-related online transactions.
5. She also backed an Early Day Motion on “high street gambling reform” in June 2025, which raised concerns about the statutory “aim to permit” and about councils being unable to reject new gambling venues in already saturated areas.

For operators and PSPs, the practical point is simple: Foxcroft’s record suggests continuity in the UK’s focus on harm prevention, venue controls and payment friction for vulnerable customers. That matters for anyone underwriting UK gambling flows, especially where bank blocking, card rules and local licensing pressure can move faster than the industry’s preferred narrative.