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UK Government Publishes Gambling Bill
New measures to protect children and vulnerable people are at the heart of Government plans to modernise the UK's gambling laws - with the new Gambling Bill published last week. A sharp rise in gambling on roulette machines in bookmakers and on internet casinos are two areas of particular concern and where new powers in the Bill will increase protections for children and vulnerable people. The Bill will also establish a new regulator - the Gambling Commission - who will police casinos, bingo halls, gambling websites and bookmakers. Backed up by strong new powers they will ensure gambling is socially responsible, fair and crime free. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Tessa Jowell said, "It is nearly forty years since Parliament last had the opportunity to take a serious look at our gambling laws and it's not just attitudes that have changed since then. The technological revolution has touched all our lives and the gambling industry is no exception. Internet gambling and roulette machines in bookmakers are just two examples of where laws introduced nearly 10 years before the first home computer hit the shelves are no longer able to protect children or vulnerable people properly. In the face of this, new protections are vital. Levels of problem gambling are low in Britain and I am totally committed to keeping it that way. That's why the Bill is so important. With a powerful new Gambling Commission policing these rules I'm confident the UK will become the safest gambling environment in the world."
Some of the key protections in the Bill include a new Gambling Commission with new powers to investigate, prosecute, enter premises, seize goods, void bets, levy unlimited fines and remove gambling licenses. It reduces the opportunities for children to gamble by removing fruit machines from over 6,000 take-aways and mini-cab offices and also makes inviting, permitting or causing a child to gamble a new criminal offence. Local authorities are empowered to resolve not to allow new casinos in their area and to license gambling premises, enabling local communities to have their say. Local authorities also have new powers to control or remove entitlements to roulette machines in bookmakers if there is evidence they are driving problem gambling. Additionally, the bill requires the Gambling Commission to conduct prevalence studies every three years to monitor levels of problem gambling and establishes an industry funded trust of at least £3m a year to pay for research into the causes of problem gambling and effective treatment methods. The bill places new controls on the way gaming machines operate and enables the Gambling Commission to control elements such as speed of play, near misses and making information on losses clearer to players. Controls on the numbers and locations of new, high prize gaming machines are also present, so that they will only be allowed in the largest, regional casinos and their numbers will be capped to 1,250 per casino. Minimum size restrictions on new casinos will mean people won't wake up one day and find that their local shop has become a casino and powers to void unfair bets and a tailored approach to regulating betting exchanges will make cheating much harder. 'Social responsibility' will be an explicit licence condition, with breaches triggering penalties including unlimited fines or even loss of licence. The Gambling Bill will also lift some out of date restrictions on casinos and bingo halls, allowing them greater commercial freedom, providing they act in a socially responsible way. These include removing the '24 hour' rule that means people must be a member of a casino or bingo club for 24 hours before they enter, removing of the permitted areas rule that defines in law strict areas where casinos can be built and allowing casinos to advertise in a limited way for this first time.
Tessa Jowell said, "This is a Bill about new protections, not new casinos.The current law leaves people vulnerable and only new legislation will fix this. But we also have to recognise that gambling is a popular leisure activity enjoyed by millions of people. Adults need to be treated as grown ups and allowed to choose what they do in their leisure time. That's why I believe it is right to take this opportunity to remove some of the more draconian restrictions on casinos, such as the '24 hour' rule. We will only allow extra choice where we are confident sufficient protections are in place to protect children and vulnerable people, and licences will be withdrawn if the new safeguards are flouted. This is my priority and this is why we need this legislation urgently."
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