Lord Sharkey
Main Page: Lord Sharkey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)(11 years, 11 months ago)
Lords ChamberI will stick to my original answer: my understanding is that it is up to the Gambling Commission to decide these matters.
But, my Lords, the Gambling Commission itself has recently stated in court proceedings that the Health Lottery was clearly designed to circumvent the proceeds limits, the gambling equivalent of a tax avoidance scheme that exploits loopholes in legislation. Is the Government not about closing such loopholes?
I thank my noble friend for that question, but the holistic approach to the lottery, which includes the National Lottery and the Health Lottery, has proved highly successful and we hope that it will continue. However, the Government will continue to monitor the progress of the operation, particularly of the Health Lottery and the society lotteries.