European Gaming & Betting Association

UK Government approach to gambling regulation

The need for modernisation

The Gambling Act 2005 comprehensively updates existing gambling laws that are several decades old, providing new powers and protections for both new and old forms of gambling. The reform was initiated as the Government accepted that the internet had fundamentally changed the gambling industry. In 2003 when the first draft of the new Gambling Bill was published Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell said:

"The world has changed dramatically since previous gambling legislation dating back to the 1960s. Then, laws were introduced to provide Britain with a gambling industry that was free of crime. Today, British gambling has a worldwide reputation for integrity but changes in society and in technology mean that the current laws are out-of-date no longer do the job they were intended to. The law needs to be modernised."

The Department of Culture Media and Sport, the government department responsible for the legislation, have repeatedly stressed that some 90% of the Act is about new protections for UK citizens. Published April 25th 2005 the final text is available online and in hardcopy format from HMSO.

The Act has three clear objectives, which were first set out in July 2001 :

• Keeping gambling crime free
• Making sure that gambling is fair and open
• Protecting children and vulnerable adults

These are underpinned the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s intention to :

• Ensure Social responsibility and protection of the public, especially children and the vulnerable remains the top priority.
• Create a new regime, which has at its heart firm but fair regulation allowing people to enjoy gambling responsibly, encourages an important industry to thrive by behaving responsibly, and protects the vulnerable. The Secretary of State has stated that a robust regulatory regime is good for players, providers and investors.
• Engage in close, open and consultative working with all stakeholders – the industry; faith, belief and community groups; researchers; and those dealing day to day with problem gamblers.

The Act covers two main activities:

• Providing facilities for gambling
• Using premises for gambling

The UK Government stated at its International Summit on Remote Gambling in October 2006 that international regulation of the online gambling industry, as opposed to prohibition, is the best way to ensure that this form of mainstream entertainment can be enjoyed by adults in a secure and safe environment whilst protecting minors and the vulnerable

Anyone seeking to use the UK as a model for a regulatory regime will find it useful to consider that this Act was the result of 5 years of Government preparation, Parliamentary Scrutiny and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders including religious groups, gambling addiction treatment providers and industry representatives (see annex A)

The progress of scrutiny and debate in the United Kingdom

Pre-legislative Scrutiny

In 2001 the UK Government commissioned an independent Gambling Review Report (The Budd Report) from group set up under the Chairmanship of Sir Alan Budd. It received over 200 written submissions and, in addition, held more than 20 oral evidence sessions. The Gambling Review’s terms of reference were to:

• Consider the current state of the gambling industry and the ways in which it might change in the light of economic pressures, the growth of e-commerce, technological developments.
• Consider the social impact of gambling and the costs and benefits.
• Consider, and make recommendations for, the kind and extent of regulation appropriate for gambling activities in Great Britain,
• Consider the need for, and, if necessary, recommend new machinery appropriate for carrying out that regulation which achieves a more consistent and streamlined approach than is now possible and which is financed by the gambling industry itself.
• Consider the availability and effectiveness of treatment programmes for problem gamblers and make recommendations for their future provision, potential costings, and funding.

Published 17th July, 2001 the Report’s 260 pages contain 175 recommendations which can be viewed in full.

The entire report is available from the Department for Culture Media and Sport website.

The Government response

A Safe Bet for Success - Modernising Britain's Gambling Laws, published 26th March, 2002, was the Government's response to the report of the Gambling Review Body, headed by Sir Alan Budd. They had received thousands of responses to the Review Body's report and the main reforms that they proposed were:

• The establishment of a single regulator for all gambling operators and key staff - the Gambling Commission
• Tough new powers for the Gambling Commission to combat criminality, tackle illegal gambling and enforce licensing provisions
• The Gambling Commission would issue statutorily-enforceable codes of social responsibility to all gambling operators
• Fit and proper tests for all commercial gambling operators On-line gambling (e.g. on the internet or interactive TV) to be licensed for the first time
• Relaxation of advertising restrictions on gambling, subject to a new Code of Practice
• An industry-funded gambling trust to support problem gambling prevention and treatment programmes, with an initial budget of £3m; the Government will also take reserve powers to compel licensed operators to pay

Launching the Government paper, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell said: "The modernisation of our gambling laws is long overdue. Both society and technology have overtaken the law and when that happens, the Government must act. "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, whilst ensuring the continued integrity of the industry and protecting the vulnerable."

Welcoming the Government's proposals, Peter Dean (Chairman of the Gaming Board – the UK regulator) said: "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".

A Safe Bet For Success can be seen in full at the Department of Culture Media and Sport.

Publication of the Draft Gambling Bill

Following a further year of consideration and consultation by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in July 2003 it published a Draft Gambling Bill for public consultation. Commenting on the proposed legislation, Tessa Jowell said:

"Changes in technology and society also bring increased choice. Gambling is a diverse, vibrant and innovative industry and a popular leisure activity enjoyed in many forms by millions of people in Britain today. And this leisure environment is also a source of employment and wealth for many towns and cities. This Bill aims to ensure that the public can enjoy that choice to the full and with confidence. It recognises that adults need to be trusted and treated like adults."

The public and other stakeholders were encouraged to submit their opinions to the Joint Gambling Bill scrutiny committee (composed of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords) until the 28th February 2004. Please click here for the full text of the Draft Gambling Bill.

Scrutiny of the Draft Bill

Public consultation - The following publication and responses are a summary of views from the public consultation that was carried out on the draft Gambling Bill. The consultation period was 26 November 2003 - 28 February 2004 Draft Gambling Bill - Views On Key Issues, Consultation Responses

Parliamentary Scrutiny - The two Houses of Parliament established a Joint Committee to consider the Draft Gambling Bill (CM 5878) published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on 15 July 2003. The website of the joint committee has a full listing of their work: www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/jcdgb.cfm

The scrutiny committee took evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, including faith and community groups, gambling addiction treatment service provider, academic experts and representatives of the gambling industry. This evidence and the issues it covered can be reviewed via the following links:

Volume II: Oral and Written evidence.

Volume III: Written evidence.

The Committee published tow reports of its findings on 25th March 2004

And a Final Report on 7th April 2004, which can be viewed here.

Government response to the Joint Committee's Report:

In June 2004, publishing the Government response to the Joint Scrutiny Committee’s report Tessa Jowell said: "I was very pleased that the Scrutiny Committee accepted our view that new controls are urgently needed to keep up with changes in technology. Modernisation is essential if we are to keep gambling fair, crime free, and protect children and vulnerable people from new and old temptations. I want to introduce a Gambling Bill as soon as possible, hopefully later this year.

"Britain has one of the lowest rates of problem gambling in the developed world. This is at risk if we do not act now and bring our laws up to date. The new powers and protections in this Bill, some recommended by the Scrutiny Committee and some going much further than they suggested, are all intended to keep Britain's problem gambling rate amongst the lowest. "We only propose giving adults additional consumer choice where we can also protect children and vulnerable players.

The Gambling Bill

House of Commons Scrutiny - The first reading of the Gambling Bill was made in Parliament on 19th October, 2004. The second reading passed on a vote of 286 to 212, a Government majority of 74 on 2nd November. It then went into Committee, where Members of the UK Parliament scrutinised the Bill line by line and debated all the controversial issues. These debates on the Gambling Bill in Standing Committee B can be viewed online.

After Committee stage the Gambling Bill was published on 25th January, 2005 and passed by the House of Commons. View the text of the Bill or read the Explanatory Notes.

Explanatory Notes are available here:

The House of Lords did little to materially alter the much scrutinised Gambling Bill, which finally became law once it received Royal Assent in the House of Lords on 7th April 2005.

The end result

The UK Gambling Act 2005 comprehensively updates existing gambling laws that are several decades old, providing new powers and protections for both new and old forms of gambling. Some 90% of the Act is about new protections.

The Act has three clear objectives:

• Keeping gambling crime free
• Making sure that gambling is fair and open
• Protecting children and vulnerable adults

These are underpinned by:

• Social responsibility and protection of the public, especially children and the vulnerable. This remains the top priority.
• Creating a new regime, which has at its heart firm but fair regulation allowing people to enjoy gambling responsibly, encourages an important industry to thrive by behaving responsibly, and protects the vulnerable. A robust regime is good for players, providers and investors.
• Close, open and consultative working with all stakeholders – the industry; faith, belief and community groups; researchers; those dealing day to day with problem gamblers.

The Act covers two main activities:

• Providing facilities for gambling
• Using premises for gambling

For further information go to the Gambling Commission and the Department of Culture Media and Sport.

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