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Mr. Moss: The clause allows the gambling commission to void a bet if it is satisfied that the bet was substantially unfair. Again, although the intention is laudable, problems may emerge because of the way that the provision is constructed.
Let us consider a situation in which the connection of a racehorse lays his horse on a betting exchange at an attractive price, in the knowledge that the horse will not run, is unfit or will be stopped by his jockey. That is known as laying to lose, and that type of activity has generated a great deal of adverse publicity for racing in recent months. Let us say that the commission becomes aware of that corrupt activity and voids the bet. As I read the clause, only the bet or bets entered
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into by the person who interfered with the outcome of the event will be voided. However, thousands of other people are likely to have placed bets on the same race, and all of those bets will have been affected in some way by the corrupt activity. For example, hundreds of betting shop punters may have backed the horse that did not try to win, and were therefore defrauded. Equally, the horse that wins the race might have lost if all its opponents had run on their merits.
It is not difficult to imagine that there would be considerable unrest and disillusionment if betting shop punters were to learn that, although a particular bet had been voided because of corrupt practice, all other losing bets in the race would stand. The effect would be that anyone who backed the non-trier along with the perpetrator of the fraud would get their money back, but other punters who had backed the same horse with a bookmaker would lose.
Voiding all bets on a horse or race would not be a practical solution because the majority of cash bets are settled quickly, and it could be some time after the race that the alleged corruption was exposed. It would then be impossible to inform, trace or identify punters entitled to their money back.
There is no suggestion that the perpetrator of that type of fraud should be allowed to benefit, or that those with whom they bet should be disadvantaged, but it would be interesting to hear the Minister's explanation of what other sanctions he feels a perpetrator might face. For example, will the commission have the power to ban the perpetrator from betting in future? Can the commission prosecute the individual, or will it refer matters to the Crown Prosecution Service?
I do not think that the industry as a whole is opposed to the Government's aims as outlined in the clause, but it is keen to know what measures would be put in place as a real deterrent to the return of the circumstances that we have discussed. Would the Government take strong action against the offender in addition to ensuring that he received no benefit from his corrupt activity?
Mr. Caborn: I shall give the Committee the general background, and then come to the specifics that the hon. Gentleman raised.
The clause gives the gambling commission the power to make an order to void unfair bets. The order will cover bets accepted by, or through, the holder of any of the licences mentioned in the clause. When the order is made, the unfair bet in question will be void, and any contract or other arrangement relating to the bet will also be void. Any money paid in relation to the bet must be returned to the person who paid it. That mechanism is an essential safeguard to customers and betting operators, and will enable the commission to support sports regulators.
We recognise that the power must come with some qualifications. The commission can make an order only once it is satisfied that a bet is substantially unfair. In deciding whether a bet was unfair, the commission must consider the factors listed. The
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commission can issue an order to void a bet only within six months of the result of the bet being determined. When a party has been convicted of cheating, the commission will be allowed an unlimited time to issue an order. We can remedy injustice through voiding, but it is unfair and unnecessary to void all bets on the race. We cannot deal with everything. The point does not apply. So, on the specific point, the answer is yes, but on the general point, it is no.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 315 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Motion made, and Question proposed, That further consideration be now adjourned.—[Mr. Watson.]
10 am
Mr. Caborn: On 16 November, I set out to the Committee our proposals to set an initial limit of eight on the number of regional casinos. I promised that there would be a statement of the Government's overarching national policy on casinos and that we would describe in more detail how the initial limit would work in practice. There is considerable interest in Parliament and elsewhere about the proposals, and with your permission, Mr. Pike, I will use this opportunity to set them out in more detail.
The Government's policy on casinos is, as everybody knows, based on the three broad objectives of the Gambling Bill: to protect children and the vulnerable, to prevent gambling from being a source of crime and to ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way. Britain has a low level of problem gambling, and we are committed to maintaining that record. Casinos are already tightly regulated and the Gambling Bill will strengthen the strict controls that are in place.
There are, however, a number of regulations that the Government believe are outdated. The 24-hour rule, the ban on advertising and the permitted areas rule unnecessarily restrict customer choice and discourage investment and economic regeneration. The tourism and leisure industries are increasingly important sectors of our economy. The casino proposals in the Bill, with the emphasis on increased regulation, can make a positive contribution to those sectors. Regional casinos, in particular, offer clear potential for regeneration. They not only provide gambling activities but may also include a range of other facilities such as hotel accommodation, restaurants, live entertainment and other leisure attractions. Many parts of the country could benefit greatly from regeneration through such leisure developments.
The Government recognise, however, that the casino proposals in the Bill represent a significant change and that we need to take a cautious approach to assess whether their introduction will lead to any increase in problem gambling. We have taken the view that the risk of an increase in problem gambling will be reduced if a limit is imposed on the number of casinos. We announced our intention to set a limit on the number of regional casinos, and I said at the time that the Government would consider whether any
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consequential changes were necessary to avoid proliferation of other categories of casino. Our conclusion is that the limit on the number of regional casinos will lead to a significantly greater rise in the number of small and large casinos than would otherwise have been the case.
That has made us reconsider the potential risk posed by small and large casinos. We now believe that, as with regional casinos, it is right to set an initial limit of eight each on the number of large and small casinos. The Government believe that, in order properly to assess the impact of those new casinos, there needs to be a sufficient number of casinos in each category to allow their impact to be assessed in a range of areas and types of location that might be suitable. Those include, for example, urban centres and seaside resorts in different parts of Britain. A limit on regional, large and small casinos of eight each is consistent with that aim and ensures that any risk is minimised.
The Government will appoint an independent advisory panel to recommend where the locations of the regional, large and small casinos should be. No earlier than three years after the award of the first premises licence, the Government will ask the gambling commission to advise on whether the introduction of the new types of casino has led to an increase in problem gambling or is increasing the risk of that. We believe that such a period is necessary to ensure that a full assessment can be made.
Once that assessment has been made, it will be easier to judge the continuing need for a limit. If, on the basis of that assessment, the Government decide to allow more casinos to be established, the order allowing that will need to be approved by Parliament. None of those provisions will affect the ability of a local authority to refuse to have any new casinos of any size category in their area. Today, we are making available a document that sets out our policy in detail, including the role of the advisory panel on new casino locations and arrangements for existing casinos.
I will briefly set out how the different parts of the process will fit together. The independent advisory panel will make recommendations on the locations of the new casinos. It will be appointed by the Secretary of State and will need to have knowledge and expertise in a range of issues, including planning, securing regeneration, tourism and addressing the social impacts of gambling. In order to ensure that the impact of the new casinos can be assessed on the basis of a broad range of information and experience, the advisory panel will be asked to identify areas for the new casinos that will provide a good range of types of location and a good geographical spread of locations across Britain.
Subject to those criteria, the panel will be asked to choose areas likely to benefit from a casino in economic development terms. It will be asked to present the Minister with a list of up to eight recommended areas for each of the three categories of casino. After consulting the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly, the Secretary of State will decide which location to choose.
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I will say a few words about the role of the planning system. In England, regional planning bodies, as part of their development of the regional spatial strategies, will need to consider possible broad locations for regional casinos within their region, taking into account national planning policy guidelines. Before the panel finalises its recommendations on regional casinos, it will need to ensure that they are compatible with the broad locations identified in the regional spatial strategies. The identification of specific sites for all three categories of casino will be a matter for the local planning authorities in their local development frameworks, having regard to national policy and the regional spatial strategy.
Local planning authorities will also be responsible for deciding applications for casino development. Operators will be required to apply for planning permission in the usual way and all applications will be considered on their merits and in line with national and local planning policy. Applications may come forward at any stage. The decision on whether they should be called in—the decision by the First Secretary of State—will be made in light of the Government's call-in policy and the particular circumstances of the case.
On the licensing system, the gambling commission will award operating licences to companies on the basis of the usual licensing criteria, but the process will incorporate an additional stringent test on social responsibility, to reflect the fact that the casinos will present new risks in relation to social harm. Operators will need to demonstrate a commitment to reduce the risk posed to vulnerable people and to make information and assistance available to people using the casinos who may be affected by problems related to gambling.
There will be no limit on the number of operating licences that may be granted. The initial limit on the number of new casinos will be given effect through the premises licensing. A local licensing authority will only be able to award a casino premises licence if one has been identified for its area. The process for awarding a premises licence will have two stages. The first will be a regulatory test to ensure that all proposals satisfy the premises licensing requirement, which is in the Bill. The second stage will be triggered where there are more applications for a casino premises licence than the local licensing authority is permitted to grant.
The second stage will involve a competition held by the local authority on the wider casino proposals. We will consult the Local Government Association and others about how the competition should be conducted. The competition could be judged on a wide range of issues, reflecting the issues, concerns and priorities that are important to that area. Those might include, for example, employment and regeneration potential, the design of a proposed development, the financial commitments by the developer to local projects, the location, the range of facilities and other matters. The local authority may also wish to provide an opportunity for consultation with local people. It would set out its priorities and concerns in a set of objective key considerations and then invite operators to submit entries to the competition.
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The eventual winner will be eligible for a full premises licence once planning permission has been obtained and the casino has been built. The operator will therefore need to have an operating licence, a premises licence and planning permission. Planning permission is likely to be conditioned with the planning obligations. The premises licence process and the planning consent process will need to be conducted taking account of the need to separate clearly the licensing and planning functions.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the DCMS will issue guidance to local authorities on the propriety issues surrounding those processes. The applicants proposed in the preferred option would not be a material consideration in the planning decision. However, once planning permission has been granted and the casino built, the operator will be able to apply for a full premises licence, which it could expect to obtain provided that there had been no material change in the proposals since the competition.
Finally, I shall say a few words about existing casinos. The arrangements for regional large and small casinos are aimed at minimising the risk of problem gambling that would come from a large increase in the number of casinos, particularly from a proliferation of the high-stake and high-prize gaming machines. Existing casinos must be allowed to continue to operate and to have the opportunity to compete for the new licences. We do not believe that it would be appropriate to allow them to have all the new casino entitlements in circumstances where a limit is imposed on the establishment of new casinos. Accordingly, we propose that there should be no size requirements on those casinos and that they should not be subject to the ban on advertising and the 24-hour rule. However, they will be restricted to the equivalent gaming machine entitlement of 10 gaming machines of up to category B and they will not be allowed to provide bingo or betting on real or virtual events.
To achieve that, there will be a separate category of premises licence for casinos that already had a licence under the Gaming Act 1968. A company operating one of those casinos may apply for a regional, large or small casino premises licence. If one is awarded to an existing casino, it will be able to operate with all the new entitlements authorised by the new licence.
My officials and parliamentary counsel have been working pretty hard to prepare amendments that give effect to this new policy. It is important that the Committee should have the opportunity to debate the amendments before the Bill returns to the Floor of the House on Report. The Government intend to table the amendments as soon as possible. Some will be new clauses and new schedules, which we will be able to consider during our sitting on 11 January. I hope that we will be able to table the amendments before the House rises for Christmas. If that is not possible, I shall write to all Committee members to give them notice of the amendments before we table them, which will be as soon as possible in the new year. I want to make sure that all Committee members can consider
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the details proposed in good time, before the Committee meets.
If Committee members want to communicate during the recess, they should leave their addresses, which may be different from those of their constituency offices, with us. We shall make sure that we communicate directly with them.
In conclusion, it is clear that the range and framework of casinos need to be reformed. As I have said, casinos have the potential to contribute to the leisure and tourism sectors, and to the economy's economic development much more widely. However, we are clear that we need to take a cautious approach to avoid the proliferation of casinos in high streets across the country and to maintain Britain's good record on problem gambling. The proposals offer that balance, and a cautious approach.
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