Gaming Machine (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocation) Regulations 2018

Lord Griffiths of Burry Port Excerpts

Tuesday 18th December 2018 Lords Chamber

In truth, although these machines currently operate in Northern Ireland, there is a strong legal argument that they are not legal at all under current Northern Ireland legislation—which, incidentally, is the position in the Irish Republic. Like the noble Lord, Lord Alton of Liverpool, I think that in this context Ladbrokes has been wise to announce that it will reduce the maximum stake in Northern Ireland from £100 to £2. I join with him and, I trust, many others in calling on all other gambling providers in Northern Ireland to follow their example. I hope that the Minister, having listened to this debate, will join Members in asking and imploring other gambling providers in Northern Ireland to follow Ladbrokes’ example. That would certainly be in the interest of the people of Northern Ireland, and especially of the most vulnerable people living in our society.

[Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)]

My Lords, it is time to move towards putting this statutory instrument to bed. We have heard a lot of passion, as we might expect on a subject so charged with emotion. My fellow catholic the noble Lord, Lord Deben—we are both catholics, not puritans—expressed views that I have heard certainly on our side of the fence, and others have also spoken with deeply felt emotion.

I found the framework offered by the report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee to be a helpful way of approaching this matter. It reminds us of course that the House might just be of interest in this subject—in fact, it was the House, largely, that put the poor Minister in the predicament he finds himself in in the first place. He will of course bat with a straight bat, as we expect him to as a professional, but we know also that he is a man not without deep passion on this matter as well. We are therefore delighted that, at long last, this matter has now reached the point of getting on to the statute book.

We note the matter of money: the gross gambling yield is £1.8 billion, and the impact on the business will be £540 million. But we must remember that the industry has had a long time to consider and to understand that this was going to happen—I would have laid great odds on it recognising it sooner, if I may use my metaphor very carefully. That £540 million is under 30% of the gambling yield, but it could have been phased over several years by an industry that is certainly able to make those calculations. The transition costs are put down as £3.8 million, which is of course nothing at all. There is therefore nothing to stop this thing going forward.

I was in the Gallery in the other place when I heard the Chancellor mention October 2019, and I simply could not believe it, because I believed that in this House we had come to a conclusion that would see government action from April of next year. Let alone asking ourselves whether it could have been sooner—of course it could have—but suddenly to go from April to October like that took me by surprise. I add my voice in expressing regret for the fact that the high price of the loss of a Minister of the integrity of Tracey Crouch had to be endured as a result of that action.

We now look at this matter and ask ourselves where we go next. The committee’s report says:

“The House may wish to ask the Minister how the Government will cooperate with the gambling industry”.


It seems that the Government have co-operated extremely well with the gambling industry and have certainly put its point of view before us again and again. The report also says:

“The House may wish to ask the Minister what steps the Government will take to ensure industry has sufficient advance notice of the increase”.


Once again, the industry has had plenty of notice of the matter before us.

Indeed, when I look at the report before me and I see:

“These benefits accrue via reduced gambling-related harm. It is impossible to accurately quantify these benefits given the data available”—


incidentally, I pass over the split infinitive quite deliberately, not wanting to show myself to be pedantic, but I cannot bear it and so must show myself to be very pedantic. With “given the data available”, regret is expressed that there is not enough data for us to see our way forward. Yet, when I look at the Explanatory Memorandum, I see that in a 2013 consultation the Government felt that they wanted to do certain things then but could not because of what are called “knowledge gaps”, and they asked the industry to be responsible for filling those knowledge gaps way back in 2013. We had a consultative process in October of last year, but that was 2017, was it not?

Therefore, over a long period of time, we have been labouring with an absence of the kind of empirical information that will lead us to an evidence-based set of conclusions, and I feel it necessary to point out that if we have reached where we are now, it is not before time. We can only be glad of the progress that has been made, and I echo the voices that have been raised around the House.

The final question is about the costs, both financial and societal, with problem gambling. I discovered another thing in the impact assessment, right at the top, which we have argued about over the years:

“Gambling-related harm produces several negative externalities including but not limited to: increased healthcare costs, welfare costs, and other costs to individuals associated with problem gamblers (e.g. family, friends and employers)”.


For years, I have been asking that that be seen as a material reason for us taking radical action to get the balance right in the whole way the gambling industry does its work. There are oncosts and society disadvantages that occur. It is a known fact that these harms are produced, and I am glad to see that the impact assessment begins with that fact.

What can we do now that we envisage the future? The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans has been mentioned; I know that he, with others, is seeking to get a special inquiry into gambling set up. So much is happening piecemeal across the whole range of gambling initiatives; we are tinkering with this here and that there, and perhaps now it is time for us to take a generic look. Perhaps this statutory instrument can be seen as a first blast in a bigger action that could lead to a better understanding and a far better set of regulations for our society at large.