Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill

Debate between Lady Hermon and Helen Grant

Tuesday 5th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Grant]

With the leave of the House, I thank all Members who have taken part in the debate. I shall try to remember everything that has been asked and to deal with as many of the questions as possible. I am glad to see that the Bill has support on both sides of the House and that most hon. Members are in favour of bringing in robust and consistent regulation of remote gambling.

Through the Bill, remote gambling will be regulated at the point of consumption. That will mean that all operators selling or advertising in the British market, whether from here or abroad, will be required to hold a Gambling Commission licence. The Bill will increase protection for Britain-based consumers and will level the regulatory playing field with all remote operators, allowing British-based operators to compete on an equal footing.

The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford), raised a great number of issues in his opening speech, including the levy, fixed odds betting terminals, enforcement and compliance. I will touch on all those issues in my speech, subject to the time available. I can confirm that we continue to engage with and consult the industry, as does the Gambling Commission, to ensure that issues of detail are dealt with very carefully. Of course, in Committee we will have an evidence sitting followed by a scrutiny sitting, which should deal with any clarification that he needs.

We will not accept an amendment on spread betting. The current arrangements work well, with the FCA and the Gambling Commission working closely together. They are also working with operators that offer spread betting to ensure that suspicious betting behaviour is reported to regulators and that licence code 15.1 is adhered to.

The hon. Member for Bradford South (Mr Sutcliffe), the shadow Minister, my hon. Friends the Members for Shipley (Philip Davies) and for Tewkesbury (Mr Robertson) and many other hon. Members asked about horse race betting levy. I understand why the issue has been raised, but the Bill cannot be the vehicle for other measures that have been neither fully considered nor consulted on. I also want to consider the question of levy reform more broadly as there might be other options that should be considered and there should be proper consultation before any measures are put in place. I will consult on any options that are sustainable, enforceable and legally sound.

My hon. Friend the Member for Maldon (Mr Whittingdale), the hon. Member for Bradford South, my hon. Friend the Member for Poole (Mr Syms), the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr Leech) and my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) all raised issues about online gambling, or the lack of it, in casinos. The suggested change in the Government’s position that has been mooted would undermine existing regulatory controls on gaming machine provisions. It would also allow casinos to offer an unlimited number of gaming machines with unlimited stakes and prizes within their premises. The Government see no reason why such machines should be offered on an unlimited basis in casinos, when all other categories of gaming machine remain subject to control. That would risk fundamentally changing the character of casinos and, very sadly, turning them into something that looks like a machine shed. There may be a case to consider greater flexibility in casino regulation, as I mentioned in my opening speech, but that would need to be subject to proper impact assessment and consultation, and the Bill is not, in my opinion, the appropriate vehicle at this stage to change casino policy.

The subject of problem gambling was rightly raised by numerous Members today, including the hon. Member for Bradford South, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). I would say to them that despite the relatively low rates of problem gambling, there are obviously very high participation rates for gambling, at around 73%. The Gambling Commission 2010 prevalence survey showed that fewer than 1% of the adult population are problem gamblers, but the Government acknowledge that while only a very small fraction of gamblers develop problems, that can of course result in significant problems, not just for those people but for those close to them. That is why protecting children and vulnerable adults from harm is a key component of our remote gambling policy. The Bill would require operators to have effective policies and procedures in place in relation to socially responsible gambling, and to contribute to research, education and treatment in relation to problem gambling, as part of complying with the Gambling Commission licence conditions.

[Lady Hermon]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mrs Grant]

I am afraid I will not, because I have very limited time and still have an awful lot to say.

The level of taxation was discussed by many hon. Members, including my hon. Friends the Members for Maldon and for Shipley, the hon. Members for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly) and for Islwyn (Chris Evans) and my hon. Friend the Member for Poole, to name but a few. The remote gambling Bill and the Treasury’s remote gambling taxation reforms are, while complementary, completely independent of each other and we absolutely reject the assertion that the licensing reforms are being pursued in order to generate tax income. The Bill includes, as Members know, no provision for the increasing of tax. Reform is entirely justified on its own merits for public participation and public protection reasons, regardless of the state of any tax plans.

On black and grey markets, I apologise to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley if I did not answer his question fully earlier, but I can now say that I am confident that the Gambling Commission has the necessary tools to enforce the licence requirements and to deter illegality and black-market activity. It is not meaningful to try to speculate about the size of the black market, which by its nature is unknown. Whatever the size of any black market, the Gambling Commission will make risk-based decisions on when and where it may need to intervene.

Finally, on the extent of the tax, it will be no surprise to learn that I am telling the House that tax is a matter for the Treasury, which I know continually keeps these matters well under review.

On enforcement and compliance, I assure the shadow Minister and all the hon. Members who raised the issue that where illegal operators attempt to target British-based consumers, the Government and the Gambling Commission are confident that action can be taken through existing enforcement mechanisms to disrupt and stop unlawful gambling. Such action would include action on illegal advertising, player education and, ultimately and if necessary, prosecution. There will always, of course, be grey areas where judgments of risk and proportionality will need to be made in each individual case.

The hon. Member for Bradford South, the former Sports Minister, who knows a considerable amount about these matters, rightly mentioned sports betting integrity and cheating. Britain is proud to lead the way in approaches to sports betting and integrity. However, we do not believe that there is a need at this stage to introduce in this country a new criminal offence of match-fixing. We believe that existing law and sports rules are sufficient, but we will keep the matter carefully under review.

My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley asked whether software producers need to be licensed. The Gambling Commission is working with the industry on the issue. In the meantime overseas software suppliers will be able to continue to supply British licensees.

I thank the hon. Member for Islwyn for his kind comments and reassure him that I do sports other than tennis. He asked me for two assurances—first, that the Gambling Commission will take action and has capacity to stop illegal betting effectively, and secondly, that the tax rate is not set too high. On the first issue, the commission will fully implement its regulatory responsibilities in line with the requirements of the Bill, and I will continue to discuss with the commission its needs to ensure that it has the necessary capacity, resources and expertise. On the second issue, as I have already said, tax rates are a matter for the Treasury and I will not venture this afternoon on to its turf.

The hon. Member for Strangford queried whether the Bill would be enforced by ISP blocking or something similar. There is mixed evidence on the effectiveness of ISP blocking, but we do not rule anything out.

Finally, on the matter of fixed-odds betting terminals, which was mentioned by several hon. Members today, although we have decided not to reduce stakes and prizes on these machines at this stage, it is a priority for the Government that we develop a much better understanding of the impact of these machines, and further work is already under way. The research being conducted by the Responsible Gambling Trust into category B machines is very important and it would be wrong to pre-empt this work. Furthermore, we believe that the Bill is not the right legislative vehicle to deal with such difficult issues.

In conclusion, this is a small but important Bill that will increase protection for remote gambling consumers based in Britain. It is not empire-building by the Gambling Commission, as was suggested by my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley. It is about protection and proper oversight and it will ensure that all remote gambling, wherever the operator is based, is licensed by the Gambling Commission and subject to that body’s robust and consistent standards of controls. I look forward to debating these issues in Committee, and I commend the Bill to the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

gambling (licensing and advertising) bill (Programme)

Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A(7)),

That the following provisions shall apply to the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill:

Committal

(1) The Bill shall be committed to a Public Bill Committee.

Proceedings in Public Bill Committee

(2) Proceedings in the Public Bill Committee shall be completed on the first day on which it shall meet.

(3) The Public Bill Committee shall have leave to sit twice on that day.

Consideration and Third Reading

(4) Proceedings on Consideration shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion two hours after the commencement of those proceedings.

(5) Proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion three hours after the commencement of proceedings on Consideration.

(6) Standing Order No. 83B (Programming committees) shall not apply to proceedings on Consideration and Third Reading.

Other proceedings

(7) Any other proceedings on the Bill (including any proceedings on consideration of Lords Amendments or on any further messages from the Lords) may be programmed.—(Karen Bradley.)

Question agreed to.

Gambling (licensing and advertising) bill (ways and means)

Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 52(1)(a)),

That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, it is expedient to authorise an extension of the cases in which:

(1) a penalty may be imposed under section 121 of the Gambling Act 2005, and

(2) a levy may be imposed under section 123 of that Act.—(Karen Bradley.)

Question agreed to.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Debate between Lady Hermon and Helen Grant

Tuesday 21st May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Lady Hermon]

My intervention relates specifically to Northern Ireland and harks back to the useful advice given at the beginning of the debate by the Attorney-General in relation to the risk of discrimination. The Minister will know that under the Bill as drafted, if it is enacted, schedule 2 means that a couple who avail of the facility of a same-sex marriage will be fine in England and Wales, but as soon as they go to Northern Ireland it reverts to a civil partnership. My concern, mirrored by the Attorney-General’s intervention in relation to an earlier amendment, is that within the United Kingdom, surely that is discrimination on grounds of different status in Northern Ireland as compared with the rest of the United Kingdom.

[Mrs Grant]

I could not quite hear everything that the hon. Lady said, but my consideration is that it is down to Northern Ireland to respond. I am assured that that is right, but if that is not correct I will write to her to clarify that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Grant]

I am happy to give the hon. Gentleman that assurance. We will certainly work very hard on that together.

I turn now to Government amendments 30 to 32, which are purely technical and simply ensure that the use of the phrase “existing England and Wales legislation” is entirely coherent, so as to remove any possible doubt as to its meaning. Government amendments 33 to 39 are technical and make changes to the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973 to ensure that it works entirely properly for same-sex marriages. Amendment 33 makes changes to the 1973 Act in relation to what applies to opposite-sex and same-sex marriages and to give effect to schedule A1.

Amendments 34, 35, 36 and 38 make changes to ensure consistency of language with the 1973 Act. Amendment 37 inserts a provision into schedule A1 to enable applications for an order to end a marriage because one of the couple is dead to be made under the Presumption of Death Act 2013. Amendment 39 enables schedule A1 to work using the presumption of death provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 if the 2013 Act is not in force when the Bill comes into force. Amendment 39 also amends schedule 1 to the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973 provisions on staying—meaning halting—matrimonial proceedings in England and Wales when there are other court proceedings at the same time outside England and Wales about that same-sex marriage. That will ensure that such proceedings on the same divorce, judicial separation or annulment do not give rise to conflicting decisions, which would prevent resolution of the issue.

[Lady Hermon]

I am listening intently to the Minister and am sorry to interrupt her at this stage, but I must bring her back to Northern Ireland. I really want an assurance from the Government that we in Northern Ireland will not see legal challenges on the grounds of breaches of the European convention on human rights by those who, if the Bill becomes law, avail of same-sex marriage in England and Wales. It is specifically paragraph 2 of schedule 2 that concerns me. It states:

“Under the law of Northern Ireland, a marriage of a same sex couple under the law of England and Wales is to be treated as a civil partnership… (and accordingly, the spouses are to be treated as civil partners).”

I just need reassurance from the Minister.