Betting Shops

Laurence Robertson Excerpts

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) (Con)]

The right hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Joan Ruddock) has spoken with great enthusiasm, passion and obvious care about her constituency. Because of other business taking place in one or two Committees here today, I do not intend to divide the House on the Bill, but I want to put forward another way of looking at this issue that might not have been considered.

First, I want to look at what betting shops are. They are no longer the seedy establishments that they might once have been. They are places where people can have an innocent flutter on the grand national, on the Cheltenham gold cup—which takes place in my constituency—on the Derby, or on the 2.35 at Lingfield on a rainy Tuesday. The betting industry, of which the shops are obviously a part, supports more than 40,000 jobs across the country. In addition to corporation tax, they pay extra betting duty, and all that tax put together amounts to £700 million being paid to the Exchequer every year.

The betting industry also pays the horse race betting levy, which goes a long way towards funding the sport of horse racing, which is the second most popular spectator sport in the UK, and employs many thousands of people on top of those employed directly by the betting industry. Betting paid £60 million to racing through the levy in 2010-11. On top of that, the industry pays millions of pounds in voluntary contributions as sponsorship of the sport.

It is important to look at where that money from betting shops goes. Yes, some of the money from those bets goes to prize money for the top races such as the grand national, but it also goes to many races that are worth less than £2,000. That money in turn is redistributed to trainers, and to jockeys and stable staff, many of whom are not very well paid at all. It also funds training and education, including the schools programme. It pays for integrity and regulation in horse racing, which keeps the sport clean. It pays for veterinary education, science research and advances in science. It is not only prize money that the betting shops pay for; they also fund the education of youngsters. There are moves to change the way in which the levy system works, but the betting industry will, without doubt, continue to contribute towards horse racing in a big way. There is an awful lot more to the role of betting shops than might meet the eye.

The Bill would introduce a planning requirement that applies to very few other businesses. First, it would restrict the number of betting shops in a particular area, although competition is hardly ever considered to be a valid planning objection. The Bill would also require an assessment of the demand for extra shops, but surely the person or company proposing to open the business will already have carried out such an assessment. The Government are now proposing to refine the planning guidance that they issue, but I hope that they will not be tempted down the road of preferring one business to another. I do not believe that that is the role of the Government.

The argument for restricting the number of betting shops is based on the so-called proliferation of problem gambling, but that problem does not exist. With less than 1% of those who gamble being defined as having a problem, the UK is way down the list in the international league of countries that might have problem gambling. It is also wrong to suggest that there has been a proliferation of gambling itself. It is important to remember that the amount of money that people gamble is not the most important statistic; the important measure is the amount that people lose, and that is not a problem for very many people in the United Kingdom at all. Nor is it the case that two shops operating on a high street instead of one would lead to double the amount of money being gambled in that area, because the law of diminishing returns will set in. Even so, the number of betting shops across the country has fallen from about 15,000 in the 1980s to about 8,800 today. That is almost a halving of the number of betting shops in the country. Indeed, in the right hon. Lady’s own area, I understand that there has been an overall fall in the number of betting shops. I also understand that Haringey council has recently refused a number of applications for betting shops, so the power to turn down those applications already exists.

Nevertheless, it is important to say that the betting industry contributed £5 million last year to support the research, education and treatment of problem gamblers, and that the Gambling Act 2005 requires the vast majority of betting shops to have an operating licence, a personal management licence and a premises licence before they can start trading. There are a number of safeguards in place—and quite rightly so.

To conclude, we have betting shops and the industry more generally paying a lot of money in taxation; employing thousands of people; funding horse racing and its associated activities, some of which involve education; and, yes, responding to market need. I thus ask where is the problem that requires even more nanny-stateism, even more needless regulations and even more costs to be added to businesses and local authorities? I would suggest that the problem is not there. With great respect to the right hon. Lady who is trying to introduce this Bill, it represents a solution looking for a problem. As such, although I will not divide the House, for the reasons stated earlier, if the Bill makes progress I will seek to oppose it in its later stages.

Question put and agreed to.

Ordered,

That Joan Ruddock, Debbie Abrahams, Heidi Alexander, Tom Brake, Mr Mark Field, Mike Gapes, Mr David Lammy, Tony Lloyd, Mr Andrew Love, Caroline Lucas, Tessa Munt and Mr Virendra Sharma present the Bill.

Joan Ruddock accordingly presented the Bill.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 20 January 2012, and to be printed (Bill 223).

[Mr David Lammy (Tottenham) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. It has been the manner of the House that, before making a speech, one declares an interest. We have just heard a speech by the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr Robertson) and it is my understanding that he has a role supported by the betting industry. It should have been declared before his contribution, which, frankly, felt like a speech that had been written by the industry itself.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

That is not a matter for the Chair; it is a matter for each Member to decide whether they feel it is relevant to declare their interest.

[Mr Laurence Robertson]

I made the speech, and I think most Members would understand that I came from a horse racing background. I am indeed joint chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on racing and bloodstock, but that group is not supported by bookmakers.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

I think that answers the point of order. I want no more points of order on that subject.