Vicky Foxcroft appointed UK Gambling Minister as statutory levy and ad ban push returns to DCMS

Vicky Foxcroft MP has been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Museums, Heritage, Gambling and Lords Minister with oversight over the DCMS, replacing Baroness Twycross. For gambling operators and their payment partners, the point is simple: the new minister has already backed tighter rules on high-street venues, live sports advertising, credit card betting, and the statutory levy.

1. Foxcroft has been an MP since 2015 and previously served as shadow minister overseeing the DCMS in 2019, where she supported stricter gambling reform motions. Her record is not exactly subtle: she has consistently lined up with tougher intervention on gambling harms.
2. In June 2025, Foxcroft supported an early day motion on High street gambling reform, which raised concerns about the “lack of sufficient powers to regulate the spread of gambling premises due to the statutory aim to permit.” The motion also questioned limits on councils’ ability to reject new gambling venue applications in saturated communities, framing gambling as a “public health issue.”
3. Days before Foxcroft’s appointment, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a reversal of the “aim to permit” rule for councils, alongside new measures targeting betting and vape shops. That makes the ministerial change relevant not just for land-based operators, but for any payment provider exposed to UK gambling policy shifts that can affect merchant mix and onboarding appetite.
4. Foxcroft has also called for a ban on gambling ads during live sports and, in 2018, urged the government to ban credit card betting and allow banks to stop problem gamblers from gambling through online gambling transactions. She supported the 1% statutory levy, implemented in November 2024, which requires licence holders to submit between 0.2-1.1% of annual GGY to research and gambling harms prevention under the Gambling Act review white paper.
5. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) welcomed the appointment, saying it wants to work with Foxcroft on “properly targeted and fit for purpose” regulation and on tackling the “rapidly growing illegal gambling black market.” Grainne Hurst, CEO of BGC, also pointed to the cumulative impact of regulation and recent tax increases on jobs, investment, and the competitiveness of the regulated sector.