Following the Cabinet reshuffle after Boris Johnson’s appointment, it has been confirmed that MP for Taunton Dean, Rebecca Pow will now be tasked with overseeing both the horse racing and gambling sectors, rather than the former MP, Nigel Adams.
Pow has been re-appointed as the parliamentary under secretary of state of arts, heritage and tourism at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. However, Pow’s role will now be including the responsibility for gambling and lotteries as well as horse racing.
Commenting on her re-appointment, Ms Pow stated: “I am absolutely delighted that the Prime Minister has re-appointed me as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for arts, heritage and tourism. All of these areas are important in the Brexit landscape.
“I am greatly looking forward to continuing in this role, though, as ever, representing the people of Taunton Deane will remain my top priority..”
The new role will also introduce the new appointment to the sector, with the DCMS currently undergoing a transition period. Pow and the wider DCMS team will now be overseeing the regulatory development, implementation and oversight of gambling laws by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
Taunton managing director, Bob Young added:“Our local MP is invited with their family to the Christmas meeting every year. As long as she has been an MP she has been every year to our Christmas meeting and presented a prize. She is very pro-racing.”
The new appointment isn’t marking the first time that racing and gambling has been separated from sports within the UK government. David Cameron’s coalition government with the Liberal Democrats saw the overall responsibility of not horse racing and gambling being branded to the then-minister for tourism and heritage, John Penrose; while Sir Hugh Robertson, who was sports minister at the time, spent his time working on the 2012 Olympics.
Last week saw UK gambling see its third ministerial leadership change in the last year, as Nigel Adams,MP for Selby and Ainsty, was selected as the new minister for Digital and Sports.
Adams replaces Mims Davies, who was appointed as UK Sports and Civic Society Minister last November, with the intention of being chosen as the replacement for Tracey Crouch following her resignation from the government’d delay on implementing FOBTs £2 reductions.
