DCMS Proposes Changes in United Kingdom

The British government is half-way home in the long process of regulating and legalizing Internet gaming.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell today released the Department for Culture Media and Sports' (DCMS) proposals for reforming the gaming industry. The DCMS recommendations are the first proposed changes to the gaming industry in the United Kingdom in more than 40 years. The recommendations cover a wide array of aspects of gaming. The proposals include everything from creating Las Vegas-style casinos that are more accessible to the public to licensing online gaming operations for the first time.

"Both society and technology have overtaken the law, and when that happens, the government must act." -Tessa Jowell U.K. Department for Culture Media and Sports

The proposals come eight months after the release of the Gambling Review Body's widely publicized "Budd" report, which offered 176 recommendations for the gaming industry.

Clive Hawkswood, a member of the DCMS's betting and racing team, said now that his office has signed off on the process, the regulations will go through a practical process.

Those proposals requiring new legislation are expected to be ready for Parliament in time for the 2003 session. If parliamentary time can be found, Hawkswood said, the legislation will likely be introduced during the session. Some minor measures in the proposals can be added without going through parliamentary approval, he added.

Enacting online gaming codes and regulations is one of the biggest tasks set forth in the proposals. Hawkswood, who played a key role in drafting the proposals, doesn't expect any of the proposals, including Internet gaming, to be opposed.

Gaming Board Chairman Peter Dean, also a member of the Gambling Review Body, feels that updating gambling laws will improve the industry for both operators and consumers.

"We are confident that the measures we intend to introduce will rid the industry of outdated restrictions and allow British companies to compete with off-shore based Internet operations, while ensuring the continued integrity of the industry and protecting the vulnerable." -Jowell

"The package of reforms now proposed will, in my view, strike an appropriate balance between increasing consumer choice for adults, affording greater protection for the minority who have problems with their gambling and ensuring that those who provide commercial gambling observe high standards of probity and social responsibility".

In addition to the online gaming proposal, which calls for the licensing of Internet- and interactive television-based gaming, the DCMS is recommending:

• the establishment of a single regulator for all gambling operators and key staff--the Gambling Commission;
• the enabling of local authorities to license all gambling premises;
• the abolition of demand tests for casinos, bingo clubs and betting offices and permitted areas restrictions for casinos;
• the abolition of the rule requiring membership of a casino and bingo clubs at least 24 hours before playing;
• that casinos be allowed to offer any form of legal gambling, including betting and bingo, and have linked gaming machines with unlimited prizes;
• that casinos be able to offer live entertainment and serve alcohol on the gaming floor;
• the relaxation of advertising restrictions on gambling, subject to a new Code of Practice
• a new licensing framework for gaming machines (amusement machines will be for use by anybody, including children; gaming machines will be for adults only, and confined to places where access can be controlled effectively);
• that bingo clubs, betting offices and adult gaming centers be allowed to mix jackpot and other types of gaming machines, while members' clubs retain current entitlements to jackpot machines; and
• the recognition of the special nature of the National Lottery, with no side betting to be allowed on National Lottery results and the retention of certain limits on society lottery sales and prizes (the latter will be doubled rather than abolished).

The government's proposals will also include a range of measures to:

• keep crime out of gambling;
• ensure a fair deal for the punter; and
• tackle problem gambling and ensure that children and the vulnerable are protected. These include:
  • fit and proper tests for all commercial gambling operators;
  • tough new powers for the Gambling Commission to combat criminality, tackle illegal gambling and enforce licensing provisions;
  • stricter controls on access by children to places where gambling takes place, especially gaming machines, as well as the inclusion of signposting and effective supervision as standard licensing conditions;
  • an industry-funded gambling trust to support problem gambling prevention and treatment programs, with an initial budget of £3m (the government will also take reserve powers to compel licensed operators to pay); and
  • the Gambling Commission's issuing of statutorily enforceable codes of social responsibility to all gambling operators.

In a prepared statement issued to the media, Jowell said the overhaul of the gaming industry in England was long overdue.

"Both society and technology have overtaken the law, and when that happens, the government must act," she said. "These reforms will significantly increase adult choice while making sure that those who need protection receive it."

Jowell said that since the release of the Budd report, thousands of individuals and groups contacted the DCMS with input on how the proposals should be shaped--input that was taken into consideration.

"We are confident that the measures we intend to introduce will rid the industry of outdated restrictions and allow British companies to compete with off-shore based Internet operations, while ensuring the continued integrity of the industry and protecting the vulnerable," she said. "They represent an exciting opportunity for the British gambling industry to become a real competitor in the global gambling market."

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