2 The Government's Response
The Committee's Original Report
6. In our original report we were critical of the
fact that many issues relating to the largest casinos (previously
referred to as resort casinos) had not been resolved by
the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Office of
the Deputy Prime Minister. These involved where the line would
be drawn between large and resort casinos, how and
where resort casinos would be located and the means through
which resort casinos would contribute regeneration benefits
to the areas where they were located. The Government has addressed
these issues in its response to our report and in the Joint ODPM-DCMS
Statement on Casinos.[6]
7. Whilst we were critical of the absence of detailed
policy on resort casinos, we supported the Government's
proposed definition of small casinos. We also supported
the Government's definition of large casinos, with the
caveats that no casino should be allowed an unlimited number of
gaming machines and that large casinos should be required
to provide leisure and cultural facilities ancillary to gambling.
The new policy
8. The Government's new proposals relating to casinos
have changed significantly from those put forward in the draft
Bill. If implemented the casino landscape could look very different
from how it would have done under the original proposals. Mr Kelly,
Chairman of Gala, commented that "one thing that is very
clear in our view from the proposals as they are currently constructed
is that they will change fundamentally the structure of the existing
casino market".[7]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey told the Committee that the aim of the
policy is to reduce the number of premises that can have Category
A machines to "limit the accessibility of jackpot machines",[8]
in order to reduce the potential for problem gambling. Our inquiry
has focussed on whether the latest policy proposals will succeed
in meeting this objective.
Casinos
9. The Government has accepted our recommendation
on the need for a definition of the largest casinos (previously
referred to as resort casinos), proposing three categories
of casino; small, large and regional. Casinos will
now be defined in terms of minimum total customer areas and gaming
machine entitlements, as set out in the table below.
| Category
| Min table gaming area
| Min additional gambling area
| Min non gambling area
| Min total customer area
| Min no of gaming tables
| Category of gaming machines permitted
| Machine: table ratio
|
| Small | 500m²
| 0 | 250m²
| 750m² | 1
| B,C,D | 2:1 (max 80)
|
| Large | 1000m²
| 0 | 500m²
| 1500m² | 1
| B,C,D | 5:1 (max 150)
|
| Regional | 1000m²
| 2500m² | 1500m²
| 5000m² | 40
| A,B,C,D | 25:1 (max 1,250)
|
Source: Department for Culture, Media and Sport,
Cm 6253, June 2004
10. Existing casinos will be permitted to continue
to operate. These existing casinos, which will not be subject
to any minimum size requirements but will be subject to gaming
machine restrictions, effectively form a fourth category of casino.
11. As can be seen from the table, all new casinos
will have to provide a non-gambling area. This is a new feature
of the definition of casinos and is discussed in more detail in
paragraph 26. There is a significant change to the gaming machine
entitlements for small and large casinos. Under
the proposals set out in the draft Bill, small casinos
with less than 40 gaming tables were permitted a ratio of three
gaming machines for each gaming table. The previous definition
of large casinos entitled those with more than 40 gaming
tables to an unlimited number of gaming machines. Both small
and large casinos were permitted Category A machines, with
unlimited stakes and prizes.
12. The new proposals are considerably more restrictive.
Under the new definition no existing casino or new small
or large casino is permitted Category A machines. Small
casinos can have only two gaming machines for every gaming table
up to a maximum of 80 gaming machines, while large casinos
can have five machines for every gaming table up to a maximum
of 150 gaming machines.
13. Regional casinos are the only casinos
to be allowed Category A machines. This is designed to limit their
accessibility and "protect the public by preventing a sudden
and substantial increase in the availability of high prize gaming
machines".[9] Regional
casinos can have 25 gaming machines for every gaming table up
to a maximum of 1,250 machines. Regional Planning Bodies will,
through their Regional Spatial Strategies, be responsible for
determining the appropriate locations for regional casinos.
Local authorities will be responsible for issuing casino premises
licences for all categories of casino, including regional
casinos.
6 Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Draft
Gambling Bill, Government Response to the First Report of the
Joint Committee on the Draft Gambling Bill; Session 2003-2004,
Cm. 6253, June 2004 Back
7
Q 193 Back
8
Q 1 Back
9
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Draft Gambling
Bill, Government Response to the First Report of the Joint Committee
on the Draft Gambling Bill; Session 2003-2004, Cm. 6253, June
2004, page 30 Back
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