Changes as Gambling Bill reaches Lords
A number of significant changes have been introduced to the Government’s Gambling Bill as it reached the House of Lords.
The bill has already been watered down as opponents in the House of Commons warned that it could lead to an explosion in gambling problems.
Initial plans for up to 40 super casinos have been scrapped and there will be up to eight in each category of large, medium and small.
The bill is designed to modernise Britain’s gambling laws, protect vulnerable groups such as children, while also allowing the casino industry to grow.
Lord McIntosh told the Lords yesterday that there would now be more safeguards including a ban on the use of credit cards to buy chips or use in gambling machines and allowing the Government to impose a minimum age requirement on category D machines – the lowest category of machines.
Lord McIntosh said: “Technology is racing ahead of the law and the need for new protections grows ever more urgent. If it’s not gambling on Internet casinos, it’s on roulette machines in bookmakers, through interactive TV, on betting exchanges or on mobile phones.
“We are unable to meet this challenge without modernising the out of date laws that govern gambling today. That’s why the Gambling Bill is so important.”
