House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

Session 2013 - 14
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Other Bills before Parliament

3

House of Commons

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Public Bill Committee Proceedings

Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill

[Third AND Fourth SITTINGS]

NEW CLAUSES

Clause 1 to 5 Agreed to.

Licence compliance, stipulations and control

Clive Efford

Negatived on division  NC1

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Notwithstanding the regulation of spread betting by the Financial Conduct

Authority, operators licensed for remote gambling by the Gambling Commission

shall, to ensure their continued fitness as such, be obliged to comply with

Condition 15.1 of the Consolidated Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice

2011 (or its equivalent from time to time) in relation to all areas of their gambling

operations, including spread betting and any other operations not within the

jurisdiction of the Gambling Commission.

(2)
In the event of any breach of subsection (1) which the Gambling Commission

believes calls into question the fitness of the relevant operator, the Gambling

Commission may require the operator to provide an explanation of such breach

within one month and may, if not satisfied with such explanation, revoke the

operator‘s licence.’.

Kite mark

Clive Efford

Not called  NC2

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Gambling Commission shall require all licensed online gambling operators

to display a standard kite mark on all their promotional materials, websites and

webpages, to indicate that such operators are licensed by the United Kingdom

Gambling Commission.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 19 November 2013
4

Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, continued

(2)
The Gambling Commission shall design and determine the form of the kite mark,

which will provide a link to information and advice on its website for customers.’.

Remote gambling licensees and customer protection

Clive Efford

Withdrawn  NC3

To move the following Clause:—

‘Holders of licences for remote gambling operations shall be required to

participate in a programme of research into and treatment of problem gambling

in accordance with arrangements to be determined by the Secretary of State in

regulations in the form of a statutory instrument approved by both Houses of

Parliament, and a levy for that purpose may be imposed under section 123 of the

Gambling Act 2005.’.

Reporting of suspicious activities and power to obtain financial information

Clive Efford

Negatived on division  NC4

To move the following Clause:—

‘In order to promote consistency of sports betting regulation, regulation of

remotely conducted spread betting and therefore of all spread betting shall be

transferred from the Financial Conduct Authority to the Gambling Commission,

which shall thereupon—

(a)
have power to require and obtain from its licensees including spread

betting organisations information concerning actual or potential

suspicious activities in relation to sporting events, and to share such

information with the relevant sports governing body;

(b)
have power to require and obtain information on financial transactions by

licensees which it reasonably suspects might be germane to the

investigation of suspicious betting activity, money laundering or other

criminal activities, or the protection of vulnerable individuals.’.

Review of connection between non-paying social networking media gambling activities

and use of licensed remote gambling operations

Clive Efford

Not called  NC5

To move the following Clause:—

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 19 November 2013
5

Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, continued

‘The Secretary of State shall conduct a review into whether and how the existence

of non-paid for gambling activities on social networking media interacts with use

of licensed remote gambling operations, and whether such non-paid for activities

can act as an inducement to participate in paying activities.’.

Enforcement by IP blocking

Clive Efford

Withdrawn  NC6

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Secretary of State shall have power to make regulations, in the form of a

statutory instrument to be laid before and approved by both Houses of Parliament,

permitting the Gambling Commission to block the internet access and internet

protocol addresses of any licensed remote gambling operator which is found by

the Gambling Commission to be in breach of its licence.’.

Enforcement by financial blocking

Clive Efford

Not called  NC7

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Secretary of State shall have power to make regulations, in the form of a

statutory instrument to be laid before and approved by both Houses of Parliament,

permitting the Gambling Commission to—

(a)
block the bank accounts of any licensed remote gambling operator found

by the Gambling Commission to be in breach of its licence; and

(b)
intervene in financial transactions between licensed remote gambling

operators and certain customers in order to prevent certain customers

such as problem gamblers from continuing to use the services offered by

the operator, including by way of intervention to block certain credit

cards and other means of payment.’.

Consultation on existing use of financial blocking and IP address blocking

Clive Efford

Not called  NC8

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Secretary of State shall procure a process to take place expeditiously

whereby each of the current gambling regulatory bodies share information on

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 19 November 2013
6

Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, continued

their financial transaction blocking and IP address blocking powers and activities,

and share and implement best practice.’.

Consultation on self-exclusion

Clive Efford

Negatived on division  NC9

To move the following Clause:—

‘Having regard to the significance of the remote gambling market in relation to

potential problem gambling, the Secretary of State shall consult on a system of

standardised self-exclusion for the gambling industry, to include means of

addressing exclusion from remote gambling access in the context of other

gambling media.’.

Jurisdiction and enforceability of remote gaming contracts

Clive Efford

Not called  NC10

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Any contract between a person providing facilities for remote gambling which are

used in the United Kingdom and the user of those facilities shall be deemed to be

concluded in, and under the laws of, that part of the United Kingdom where those

facilities are used.

(2)
Section 335(1) of the Gambling Act 2005 shall apply to any contract between a

person providing facilities for remote gambling which are used in the United

Kingdom and the user of those facilities, irrespective of whether that contract is

enforceable in the country or place in which the provider of those facilities is

located.’.

Dormant accounts

Clive Efford

Not called  NC11

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Secretary of State shall consult on appropriate ways to require licensed

remote gambling operators to disclose (as a condition of their licence) the

amounts held by them by way of—

(a)
winnings of UK customers unclaimed for a period of more than one

calendar year; and

(b)
sums in dormant accounts of UK customers.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 19 November 2013
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Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, continued

(2)
A dormant account shall for this purpose be an account which has been inactive

for at least one calendar year.’.

Gibraltar and Alderney

Clive Efford

Not called  NC12

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Secretary of State shall conduct a review comparing the effectiveness of UK

licensing in comparison with the licensing regimes of EEA and white listed

countries in relation to—

(a)
suspicious betting, playing or sporting activity;

(b)
under-age gambling; and

(c)
protection measures in place for gambling customers;

and lay before both Houses of Parliament a report containing the findings of such

review.’.

Discussions between gambling regulatory bodies and sports governing bodies

Clive Efford

Not called  NC13

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Secretary of State shall have power to make regulations, to be laid before

and approved by both Houses of Parliament, stipulating the manner and time of

regular meetings between any and all of the gambling regulatory bodies and

sports governing bodies.’.

Advertising watershed

Clive Efford

Not called  NC14

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Secretary of State shall consult on the current regulatory position concerning

advertising of gambling before the nine o‘clock watershed and shall lay before

the House a report of the findings not later than the final sitting day before the

summer recess 2014.’.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 19 November 2013
8

Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, continued

Application of the horserace betting levy

Clive Efford

Negatived on division  NC15

To move the following Clause:—

‘In article 2 of the Gambling Act 2005 (Horserace Betting Levy) Order 2007/

2159, for paragraph 3 substitute—

“(3)
Subject to paragraph (4), expressions used in sections 24 to 30 of the

1963 Act shall have the meanings given to them by section 55(1) of the

1963 Act (as that provision had effect immediately before 1st September

2007).

(4)
For the purposes of paragraph (3), the definition of ‘bookmaker’ as set

out in section 55(1) of the 1963 Act (as that provision had effect

immediately before 1st September 2007) shall be modified by—

(a)
replacing the comma at the end of paragraph (b) of the definition

of ‘bookmaker’ with ‘; or’; and

(b)
after paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘bookmaker’ inserting—

‘(c)
holds an operating licence under the Gambling Act 2005

which authorises that person to provide facilities for

betting,’.”.’.

Power to extend the horserace betting levy to overseas bookmakers

Clive Efford

Negatived on division  NC16

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Secretary of State may by regulations amend any provision or provisions of

the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 (c 2) (at a time when the provisions

listed in section 15(1)(a) to (c) of the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act

2004 (horserace betting levy system) have not been entirely repealed by order

under that section), the Gambling Act 2005 and/or the Gambling Act 2005

(Horserace Betting Levy) Order 2007/2159 for the purposes of ensuring that each

person who holds an operating licence under the Gambling Act 2005 which

authorises that person to provide facilities for betting shall be—

(a)
liable to pay the bookmakers’ levy payable under section 27 of the

Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 (c 2); and

(b)
subject to the provisions of section 120 of the Gambling Act 2005 (as

modified in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005 (Horserace Betting

Levy) Order 2007/2159) if that person is in default of such bookmakers’

levy.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 19 November 2013
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Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, continued

(2)
Regulations under this section must be made by statutory instrument.

(3)
A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made

unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution

of each House of Parliament.’.

Bill to be reported.



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