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4/21/2005: UK Gambling Bill
How the Gambling Bill was changed
If you look back at the proposals made over the past five years you can see how much the Bill changed – these were all changes which The Methodist Church and The Salvation Army called for:
Originally there were to be an unlimited number of super-casinos (so-called “regional” casinos). The Government then capped them at 8 for the first trial period of 3 years.
Now there will only be ONE super-casino for the trial period. If the Government wishes to increase this number it will have to take the proposals through parliament again.
Originally there were to be an unlimited number of small and large casinos – last autumn there were planning applications for approximately 200 new casinos.
Now there will only be eight small and eight large casinos for the trial period of three years. There will be assessments of the impact of these new casinos during the trial period before any new ones are permitted.
Originally there was an expectation that existing casinos would be able convert into new regional, large and small casinos with the new entitlements to more slot machines etc.
Now existing casinos allowed to have just 20 machines, with prizes up to £4000, but with no further entitlements.
Originally there were to be an unlimited number of million-pound slot machines (“Category A” gaming machines) in regional casinos.
Now the regional casino will only have 1,250 machines in total of which Category A machines will be a part.
Originally gambling was to be allowed on Christmas Day for the first time.
Now gambling is to be prohibited on Christmas Day.
Originally there was no guarantee that the Government would monitor the impact of the Gambling Bill and be held account for it.
Now there are guarantees that a new “prevalence survey” of gambling activity and problem gambling will be carried out before the changes are introduced and then every few years. This will enable the Gambling Commission to measure the impact of the increase in gambling opportunities.
Originally virtual roulette games, or Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, were to be allowed in bingo clubs, registered clubs and adult gaming centres. FOBTs are highly addictive and gambling charities have seen a steady growth in the number of people who have developed problems because of these machines.
Now FOBTs are to continue to be limited to betting offices and casinos. They are considered to be “under probation” by the Government, but are still a major cause of concern.
Originally casinos were in the same planning category as health clubs and other “entertainment” venues. This would have meant that premises could be converted from health clubs to casinos without seeking planning permission.
Now casinos are to be placed in a sui generis category and specific permission will be required for conversions.
Originally local authorities’ powers to limit the number of new casinos were very limited.
Now, in addition to the overall cap on the number of new casinos, local authorities can pass a motion as part of their planning policies vetoing new casinos in their area.
In addition the Gambling Act will introduce a range of new protections:
The new Gambling Commission will regulate most forms of gambling giving greater consistency and stronger powers of enforcement.
All gambling operators will be required to abide by statutory codes of social responsibility covering issues such as preventing children from gambling, reducing the addictive nature of certain games and ensuring that gamblers are provided with full information.
Internet gambling will be regulated in Britain for the first time, allowing the Commission to outlaw sharp practices.
But concerns still remain
However there will be deep disappointment that the Gambling Act does not ban children from gambling. The Methodist Church, The Salvation Army and NCH, the children’s charity, ran a campaign calling for children to be banned from gambling. At the moment Britain is the only western country which allows children to gamble on certain fruit machines – the only restriction on whether a child can play these fruit machines is whether they are tall enough to put money in the slot. Research shows that as many as 1 child in 20 has a problem with gambling.
More than 50,000 people signed a petition calling for the Gambling Bill to be amended to prohibit children from gambling, and several hundred wrote letters to peers and MPs. We heard tragic stories from parents, teachers, magistrates and police officers of young people they knew who had become addicted to gambling by playing on fruit machines as children. Three members of the House of Lords agreed to table an amendment to the Bill during the committee stage. Yet, despite a high level of support for our campaign from a number of peers from all parties, the leadership of the Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat parties refused to back the call to ban children from gambling and the amendment did not succeed.
Given the level of public support for such a change this is clearly disappointing. However the campaign still raised concerns and awareness about childhood gambling. The Act also contains a provision under which the Secretary of State can introduce a ban at a later stage – the industry was keen to remove this provision but the campaign made this impossible. We will therefore continue to press the new Gambling Commission to monitor this area and press for changes.
The Act will certainly lead to an increase in addictive gambling opportunities, and a relaxation of membership rules and opening hours of casinos will make gambling more accessible, and these aspects continue to cause concern. The final shape of the Gambling Act is, however, almost unrecognisable from the original proposals, and this is largely the result of the Government being forced to recognise the strength of public unhappiness with its plans. So thank you for helping, whether that was writing to your MPs or to members of the House of Lords, signing the petition, writing to your local paper or talking with your friends and family. The fact that we have a better Gambling Act than originally proposed is due to your support and activity.
As the changes are introduced over the next few years the Methodist Church and The Salvation Army will continue to work with the Government and the Gambling Commission to ensure that regulation is not relaxed further and that the impact of the changes is carefully monitored and acted upon.”
from connexions
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4/3/2005: UK Gambling BIll
… in a departure from the normal rules, it is Conservative leader Michael Howard who this weekend controls the wheel of fortune. Howard has the power to scupper what is one of Labour’s most controversial proposals while at the same time painting himself as preventing a gambling epidemic. The question is will he use it? In the next four days, we’ll find out. After five years of government consultation, positioning papers, intense negotiation, lobbying and ferocious media campaigning, the controversial Gambling Bill, which has seen more U-turns than a London black cab, is on a knife edge. The Bill is supposed to modernise 38-year-old gambling laws, protect punters, legislate for the internet age and create a new regulatory framework. Casino bosses saw the bill as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tempt millions through their doors and build dozens more gambling dens stuffed with cash-guzzling slot machines.
Parliament will be dissolved Thursday and no one knows whether the bill will be shelved or not.
If the casino industry fails to win what it wants - more slot machines with bigger jackpots and the right to open betting shops in their establishments - it will withdraw its support from the gambling bill. This will encourage Howard to block it.
Although the Tories and the casino industry are traditional bedfellows, Howard has a much bigger gallery to play to. The temptation to make a direct hit on what is an enormously unpopular bill appears irresistible. So on Tuesday he will demand that the Government cut by half its proposed eight super casinos, which will contain thousands of slot machines and unlimited jackpots.
While the Conservatives are in favour of large parts of the bill such as the creation of a Gambling Commission and the regulation of internet gambling, they believe the social effects of supercasinos are unproven and that eight is too many. In addition Howard will demand that casino punters be required to produce identity to enter new gaming dens. The move in effect plants a bomb under the legislation. ‘This is business clashing with politics at its most brutal,’ said one casino industry insider this weekend. ‘I’m feeling ter ribly uncomfortable. I’m not sure where my business is going to be. ‘ Howard could bring to an end one of the most tortuous legislative episodes seen under Labour.
The history of the Gambling Bill is a testament to hype, hope and greed. In 2003 the casino industry was the best performing sector in a plummeting stock market. What underpinned its stellar performance was the tangible belief that the government would create lucrative growth opportunities with new legislation - the first for 38 years. And they weren’t shy about spreading the word to fund managers, who piled into firms like Rank and Stanley Leisure.
The industry sensed that a new Gambling Bill would create a brave new gambling world with 24-hour licences, no membership restrictions and live entertainment. But that was just the icing on the cake. What excited the city and casino bosses was the real possibility - fanned by authoritative Labour policy papers - that the floodgates would open and dozens of new casinos up and down the country would be built, and existing casinos would be expanded. The hope was that these casinos could install new slot machines with significantly increased prizes - and draw in millions of punters.
But this was not all: casinos thought they would soon be permitted to advertise and offer a whole panoply of gambling products that until now were outlawed in their premises. These included sports betting and bingo. ‘If you said five years ago that the existing industry would get 24- hour licences, the right to advertise and have punters walking in off the street without any membership restrictions, they would have bitten your hand off,’ said one insider. ‘But expectations were ratcheted up and this has now caused tension between government and industry.’
As casino bosses excitedly told fund managers that their industry had a real growth story - which fed through to companies’ share prices - and massive American casino firms told journalists they were prepared to invest billions of pounds in building large numbers of mega casinos, church groups became increasingly alarmed that the country was sleepwalking into a gambling nightmare of addiction and social problems.
Opposition to the Gambling Bill - five years in the making - was muted until last summer. Then the dam broke. An unprecedented alliance between the Guardian and the Daily Mail exposed government links to the casino industry and the papers published stories detailing the huge amounts of money spent by gambling bosses on Whitehall lobbyists. Jowell was forced to dramatically tone down the bill. The subsequent delay means it could run out of time.
All parties agree that the current gambling laws, 38 years old, desperately need revising. The explosion of internet gambling and powerful new electronic gambling machines needs to be regulated. The alternative is in any case spiralling social problems. But the bill has become a political football. It may well be about to be kicked into the long grass.
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1/15/2005: UK Gambling Bill
Reuters is saying the UK Gambling Bill overhaul could be scrapped because of public opposition, some of which has been reported in The Daily Mail.
"Britain’s controversial overhaul of its gambling industry has become an embarrassment and could be seriously delayed or scrapped altogether, politicians and analysts said on Thursday. "The gambling bill, which aims to modernise 40-year-old legislation, allowing Las Vegas-style super-casinos, has angered campaigners, health experts and casino operators alike. "Waning support from the industry turned to outright hostility in December when the government announced stringent new caps on their expansion plans — wiping over 300 million pounds off their combined market value in the space of a few hours. "’We believe the government has gone down something of a cul-de-sac, producing a bill that almost nobody wants,’ Malcolm Moss of the opposition Conservative party told Reuters.
A government spokesperson says the bill will pass.
More here.
