[ARCHIVED CONTENT] gambling review

A public consultation period followed the publication of the report. The deadline for comments was 31st October 2001. Over 270 formal submissions were received, analysed and evaluated. In addition, by the end of February 2002, DCMS had received over 4700 letters and other items of correspondence about individual or particular groups of recommendations.

On 26 March 2002, The Government published its response - 'A Safe Bet For Success - modernising Britain's gambling laws,'. This paper sets out the Government's proposals for reforming Britain's gambling laws and regulations in light of the Gambling Review Report and the subsequent consultation exercise. The text for both the response and the Gambling Review Report can be found under related information or copies can be purchased from the Stationery Office for �13.50 and �38.90 respectively.

The great majority of the reforms will require primary legislation, and the Government intends to introduce a Gambling Bill when Parliamentary time allows. In the meantime, we will be bringing forward, where necessary for Parliament's approval, a number of interim changes which will provide useful gains in terms of deregulation and consumer choice, and which will not disturb the overall balance of regulation which we propose. Further details of these interim changes are set out in Chapter 9 of "A Safe Bet For Success".

The Gambling Review was a wide-ranging review of the legislation on gambling in Great Britain, most of which is now more than 30 years old. In 1999 the Government set up an independent review body under the chairmanship of Sir Alan Budd. The review body disbanded in June 2001, and its report was published by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 17 July 2001. DCMS is now responsible for taking forward the policy and legislative changes arising from the review.

In conducting this review, the body should not consider changes to the National Lottery. But it will need to look at the impact on the Lottery of any proposed changes, including an assessment of the potential effect on the income to good causes.

   - maximum stake 30p
   - maximum prize of �5 in cash or �8 token (or other non-cash prize)
   - can be found virtually anywhere, but especially in seaside arcades and arcades in bowling alleys and motorway  services, outlets such as cafes, fish & chip shops, takeaways, taxicab offices

Proposed new controls

   - maximum stake 10p
   - maximum prize of �5 (cash or non-cash)
   - family entertainment centres (including seaside arcades, bowling alleys, motorway services and theme parks) and outlets such as cafes, fish & chip shops, takeaways, taxicab offices, etc

These proposals will relax a number of current controls on gambling within casinos to enable operators to provide a broader and more accessible leisure experience to their customers. Casinos will be able to provide live entertainment and offer a variety of gambling products including betting , bingo and linked slot machines with unlimited stakes and prizes, as well as more traditional table games. There will be no statutory membership requirement. The "demand test" for new casinos will be abolished, as will the "permitted areas" restrictions that limit new casino developments to certain parts of the country.

In reforming our gambling laws, the Government is committed to ensuring that gambling in this country remains crime-free and that the industry operates to the highest standards of social responsibility. A range of measures will be put into place to improve the level of protection for children and age controls will be enforced rigorously by a new Gambling Commission and by local authorities. There will also be more and better research into the risks presented by gaming machines and other forms of gambling. The Government also fully endorses the Review Body's wish to see a long term programme of research into the causes of problem gambling and into effective methods of prevention and treatment intervention. The Gambling Industry Charitable Trust is an independent body which has been established to fund the research, treatment and education of problem gambling. It is funded through voluntary contributions by the industry, and aims to raise �3m a year over the next 3 years. The Trust's strategy is avaiable on its website; www.gict.org.uk. The new legislation will give the Secretary of State a reserve power to impose a statutory levy if the industry's voluntary contributions are deemed insufficient.

The Government has announced its intention to license and regulate online gaming by British based operators. This will require primary legislation and will form part of the wider gambling reforms outlined in "A Safe Bet For Success". Consumers in this country can already access a wide range of overseas-based internet sites offering casino and machine-type games. The Government's aim will be to create a regulatory environment within which British operators can compete for a share of the global market for online gaming, and which will provide consumers, both here and abroad, with access to a full range of licensed gambling sites, safe in the knowledge that the probity and integrity of operators and their products are assured by the Gambling Commission. Before this can be achieved there are a number of detailed issues to be addressed. This process is currently under way, in consultation with industry and other stakeholders. The Government's aim will be to ensure that the new regulatory framework is both proportionate and effective.

The Gambling Review Report contained a number of recommendations aimed at clarifying and tightening up the law governing prize competitions and similar quasi-gambling products. The Government has decided that this area needs further thought and consideration, and has therefore launched a further period of consultation on these particular recommendations. A consultation document was issued on 23 May 2002.