The final draft of the U.K. Gambling Bill was introduced in the House of Commons Monday and published in its entirety for public viewing today.
Tessa Jowell, Secretary for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, said the bill includes measures to protect children and problem gamblers while establishing a new authority--the Gambling Commission--to regulate casinos, bingo halls online gambling networks and bookmakers and ensure that gambling remains fair, crime-free and socially responsible.
Said Jowell, "It is nearly 40 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 U.K. will become the safest gambling environment in the world."
Among the many new measures in the bill are provisions that will allow online gambling operators to become licensed in the United Kindgom for the first time.