Andy Burnham UK PM: What the Cabinet Reshuffle Means for Gambling

Andy Burnham became UK prime minister on July 20, 2026, after Sir Keir Starmer resigned, and named his first cabinet that evening. Lisa Nandy was one of only two ministers reappointed to the exact same job, staying on as Culture Secretary in charge of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the department that sets gambling policy and oversees the Gambling Commission. Day to day licensing decisions stay with Nandy, but Burnham has a public record of tougher rhetoric on gambling sponsorship and local licensing powers than Starmer, so the industry is watching his early priorities closely.

• Lisa Nandy retains the DCMS brief and regains formal oversight of digital policy, one of just two cabinet ministers Burnham kept in an unchanged role, according to SBC News (July 21, 2026).
• John Healey moves from Defence Secretary to Chancellor of the Exchequer, replacing Rachel Reeves, who doubled remote gaming duty to 40 percent in the November 2025 Budget, according to GamesHub.
• Betting market Betfair Predicts gives Burnham an 81 percent chance of remaining prime minister after the next general election, with Labour given a 36 percent chance of winning the most seats, per SBC News (July 21, 2026).
• Thirty eight local authorities, led by Brent Council, wrote to government in 2025 demanding the "aim to permit" default in gambling licensing be reversed, a campaign the Gambling Commission signalled in May 2026 is moving toward new council powers.

Who is Andy Burnham and how did he become prime minister?

Andy Burnham is the former mayor of Greater Manchester and a long serving Labour MP and cabinet minister who returned to Westminster to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister on July 20, 2026, following Starmer's resignation. He announced his top team the same evening, with appointments confirmed and reported the following morning. Burnham previously served as Culture Secretary under Gordon Brown, giving him first hand experience of the department that now sets gambling policy, and as Greater Manchester mayor he aligned the Greater Manchester Combined Authority with gambling harm campaigns, including the "Odds Are They Win" awareness campaign.

Why does Lisa Nandy staying at DCMS matter for gambling policy?

Nandy staying at DCMS matters because it means continuity rather than a fresh minister who would need to be briefed from scratch on the ongoing Gambling Act review, licensing reform and the Gambling Commission's statutory levy. She was one of only two ministers Burnham reappointed to an unchanged post, and he additionally handed her formal oversight of digital policy after the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) was abolished and folded into a new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) under Jonathan Reynolds. Continuity at DCMS means existing work streams, including local authority licensing powers and the Illegal Gambling Taskforce, are unlikely to be paused or restarted.

Which other cabinet changes affect gambling and racing policy?

The two changes that matter most to gambling and racing are at the Treasury and in the machinery of government below DCMS. John Healey has moved from Defence Secretary to Chancellor of the Exchequer, replacing Rachel Reeves, who as Chancellor doubled remote gaming duty from around 21 percent to 40 percent in the November 2025 Budget and increased other gambling duties, changes operators including Rank Group had already flagged would dent annual operating profit. Ed Miliband has moved to the Foreign Office, Wes Streeting becomes Defence Secretary, Angela Rayner returns as Housing Secretary, and Shabana Mahmood stays on as Home Secretary. None of those departments hold the gambling brief directly, but a new Chancellor at a moment when the Treasury is under pressure on the cost of living means the door is not closed on further gambling tax changes at the next fiscal event.

Role	Before July 20, 2026	After July 20, 2026
Prime Minister	Keir Starmer	Andy Burnham
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Rachel Reeves	John Healey
Culture Secretary (DCMS, gambling brief)	Lisa Nandy	Lisa Nandy (retained, plus digital policy)
Defence Secretary	John Healey	Wes Streeting
Foreign Secretary	David Lammy era predecessors	Ed Miliband
Housing Secretary	Steve Reed era predecessors	Angela Rayner
Home Secretary	Shabana Mahmood	Shabana Mahmood (retained)
Science and technology department	DSIT (standalone)	Abolished, merged into new BIST under Jonathan Reynolds

What has Andy Burnham said about gambling in the past?

Burnham has said he wants to "relegate gambling sponsorship of sport to the history books," a position he restated at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Related Harm, where he also criticised the spread of arcade gaming centres on high streets. At that same event he acknowledged he was "once more supportive of the gambling sector than he is now," saying his views had shifted as he learned more about the impact of digital gambling products. That combination, a former Culture Secretary who worked comfortably with a pro-gambling industry in the 2000s but has since become a vocal critic of sponsorship and high street gambling premises, is why operators are treating his arrival at Number 10 as a signal to watch rather than a reason to panic.

Will local councils get more power to block betting shops?

Councils are already on track to gain more licensing power regardless of who is prime minister, because the review predates Burnham. Thirty eight local authorities, led by Brent Council, wrote to government in 2025 asking for the "aim to permit" default, under which councils must have strong grounds to refuse a new gambling premises licence, to be reversed in favour of a system that gives councils more discretion. Starmer confirmed a policy review into the issue in September 2025, and the Gambling Commission said in May 2026 that English councils are expected to gain new powers. Burnham's own record as Greater Manchester mayor, where his combined authority backed anti-gambling harm campaigning, suggests he is unlikely to slow that reform down.

What is happening with gambling sponsorship and advertising?

Gambling sponsorship of sport survived a fresh legislative challenge just days before the reshuffle. On July 15, 2026, at report stage of the Sporting Events Bill in the House of Lords, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Foster of Bath proposed an amendment to require sporting venues covered by the bill to be free of gambling advertising, marketing and sponsorship. DCMS gambling minister Baroness Twycross rejected it, telling peers the government does not intervene in commercial sponsorship arrangements but "will not hesitate to take steps where necessary." Lord Foster, who argued that "gambling is very big business and it causes a great deal of harm to children and many other people," withdrew the amendment after the government declined to support it. Burnham's own past comments on wanting to end gambling sponsorship of sport put him to the left of that government position, though as prime minister his priorities are the economy, tax and social care rather than a fast follow on sponsorship reform.

Could the National Lottery be nationalised?

Nationalising the National Lottery, currently run under licence by Allwyn Entertainment, has been reported as an option under discussion inside government, though it has not been confirmed as policy by Number 10 or DCMS. Any move would be a significant intervention in a licensed gambling product and would likely take years to execute given the current licence structure, so it sits alongside tax and licensing as a longer term watch item for the sector rather than an immediate change.

How has the gambling industry reacted to the reshuffle?

The Betting and Gaming Council, the trade body for licensed British betting and gaming operators, struck a measured tone. Chief executive Grainne Hurst said the sector "looks forward to building on the constructive relationship we have developed since she first took office," referring to Nandy, and added that operators want the government "to ensure the UK has a stable, internationally competitive tax and regulatory environment." That statement reads as a direct appeal aimed at the new Chancellor as much as at Nandy, given that tax stability, after the November 2025 remote gaming duty increase to 40 percent, is now the industry's biggest single ask of the Treasury.

Does racing get any protection under the new government?

Racing has fared better than the wider betting sector on tax so far, having secured an exemption from the most recent round of gambling tax increases following sustained industry lobbying, and the sport falls under Nandy's unchanged DCMS brief rather than a new minister. That gives racing bodies a familiar official to continue existing conversations with on the horserace betting levy and media rights, rather than having to rebuild a relationship with a new secretary of state at the same time as adjusting to a new prime minister.

What does this mean for the Gambling Act review and licensing reform?

The practical effect for operators is continuity of process rather than a sudden change of direction. With Nandy staying in post, the ongoing strands of gambling reform, including the statutory levy for research, prevention and treatment, local licensing powers, and the Illegal Gambling Taskforce's work on unlicensed operators, continue under the same ministerial team that has been running them. The bigger uncertainty is not DCMS policy but Treasury policy, since a new Chancellor arriving at a moment when Burnham has already signalled a cost of living package is being prepared raises the question of where the money comes from, and gambling duties have already been used once for that purpose in November 2025.

What happens next for UK gambling policy?

The most concrete near term milestones are the Gambling Commission's expected update on local authority licensing powers, continued progress on the "aim to permit" reversal that 38 councils have been pushing since 2025, and whatever Burnham's promised cost of living measures, due to be detailed shortly after his cabinet was named, mean for Treasury thinking on gambling duties. None of that changes overnight because a new prime minister has been named, but the direction of travel, tighter licensing powers for councils and no relief on tax, looks unlikely to reverse under a Burnham government given his own record on the issue.

Frequently asked questions

Who replaced Rachel Reeves as Chancellor?

John Healey, previously Defence Secretary, was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by Andy Burnham on July 20, 2026, replacing Rachel Reeves.

Did Lisa Nandy lose the gambling brief?

No. Nandy was reappointed as Culture Secretary and kept the DCMS gambling brief, one of only two ministers Burnham kept in an unchanged role, and she also gained oversight of digital policy.

Has UK remote gaming duty changed under the new government?

Not yet. Remote gaming duty was raised to 40 percent in the November 2025 Budget under Rachel Reeves. No changes to that rate have been announced since Burnham took office on July 20, 2026.

Is gambling sponsorship of sport being banned in the UK?

Not currently. A Lords amendment to ban gambling sponsorship at venues covered by the Sporting Events Bill was rejected by the government on July 15, 2026, and withdrawn by its sponsor, Lord Foster of Bath.

Will councils get more power to refuse betting shop licences?

A review into reversing the "aim to permit" default is already underway following a 2025 letter from 38 local authorities, and the Gambling Commission indicated in May 2026 that new council powers are expected, independent of the cabinet reshuffle.

Updated July 2026.