2 Introduction
2. On 13 March 2003 the Government laid before Parliament
the proposal for the Regulatory Reform (Gaming Machines) Order
2003 in the form of a draft of the order and an explanatory memorandum
from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (the Department).[1]
The proposed regulatory reform order would amend the Gaming Act
1968 (the 1968 Act) by removing restrictions on the way in which
money can be paid into, and prizes paid out of, certain categories
of gaming machine. The 1968 Act would be amended in order to:
- allow certain gaming machines to accept payment
for play by means other than by coin, and pay out in non-cash
means
- allow certain categories of machine to retain
a player's winnings in the machine for further play, and
- dispense with the requirement that certain gaming
machines must be able to accept payment for a single play.
3. The House has instructed us to examine the proposal
against the criteria specified in Standing Order No. 141(6) and
then, in the light of that examination, to report whether the
Government should proceed, whether amendments should be made,
or whether the order should not be made.[2]
4. Our discussion of matters arising from our examination
is set out below. Where a criterion specified in Standing Order
No. 141(6) is not discussed in the report, this indicates that
we have no concerns to raise about that criterion. In the course
of our examination, we requested further information from the
Department about a number of issues relating to the proposal.
The Department's response is reproduced at Appendix B.
5. The Committee was assisted in its consideration
of the proposal by a demonstration, arranged by the trade association
BACTA, of a prototype gaming machine which could be legally operated
in Great Britain should the draft order be made. We are grateful
to Mr Rolf Nielsen, of Gamestec Leisure Ltd, and Mr Bos Anderson,
of Bell-Fruit Games Ltd, for their assistance in demonstrating
the prototype to us.
1 Copies of the proposal are available to Members of
Parliament from the Vote Office and to members of the public from
the Department. The proposal is also available on the Cabinet
Office website: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/act/proposals.htm
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Standing Order No. 141(2) Back
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