The Gambling Act 2005: A Bet Worth Taking?

HC 421, First Report of Session 2012-13 - Volume I: Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

Author:

House of Commons - Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

Price: £30.50

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High street betting shops and casinos are currently allowed a maximum of four B2 (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals) gaming machines, which allow stakes of up to £100 and a £500 prize; 'The Gambling Act 2005: A Bet Worth Taking? (HC 421)' reports that casinos should instead be permitted to operate up to 20 B2 gaming machines.

Limiting the number of B2 machines in betting shops has encouraged them to cluster in some high streets in order to satisfy customer demand. Local Authorities should have the power to permit more than the four B2 machines per shop if they believe it will help with clustering.

The Committee also recommends that any local authority be able to make the decision as to whether or not they want a casino. As a step towards this, existing 1968 Act Casino licences should be made portable, allowing operators to relocate to any local authority provided that they continue to be constrained by the need to obtain local authority approval, a premises licence and planning permission.

The report also suggests the Gambling Commission introduce a new licence fee structure which reduces the current anomaly where smaller independent bookmakers pay much higher fees per shop than large chains.

The failure to set remote gambling taxation at a level at which online operators could remain within the UK, has led to almost every online gambling operator moving offshore, whilst most are still able to advertise and operate in the UK.

Given the absence of a significant UK-regulated online sector or any Regional Casinos, the Gambling Commission remains an overly expensive, bureaucratic regulator.

Extent	396 pages	ISBN	9780215047267
Size	A4	Price	£30.50
Format	Paperback	Published	24 Jul 2012
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges