British parliamentarians called on the government on Wednesday to put tighter controls on casinos and slot machines as it prepares to deregulate an industry worth more than 40 billion pounds ($73.5 billion). A cross-party parliamentary committee scrutinising a draft gambling bill, designed to overhaul laws dating from the 1960s, said the bill would bring a rise in "problem gambling".
It recommended an amendment that would put a cap on the number of Las Vegas-style slot machines a casino can install and proposed restricting larger "resort" casinos to areas where they can bring regeneration, such as ailing seaside towns. The government is not obliged to accept any of the committee's suggestions, but its report will inform the political debate as the bill makes its way through parliament.
Hilton Group, Rank, London Clubs International and Stanley Leisure are among the major UK companies that could benefit from the long-awaited deregulation of Britain's gambling industry. Upper limits on slot-machine numbers and restrictions on where resort casinos can be set up could deter larger operators, including U.S. companies expected to pour billions into Britain.
The 1968 Gambling Act allowed for strict restrictions on the use of casino premises for purposes other than gaming, the hours they could open, where they could be sited and how they could advertise. It also restricted pay-outs on fruit machines. The government's draft bill, published in November, proposes wholesale deregulation, supervised by a new Gambling Commission that would be given strong enforcement powers. Remote gambling via the Internet, mobile phones or interactive television would be licensed and regulated properly in Britain for the first time under the government's bill.
The committee said the overall framework of the bill was right but that the government should proceed more cautiously, and it suggested 139 amendments. "This legislation would increase the number of people in the United Kingdom with a gambling problem," the committee said.
The government has proposed that new casinos must be a minimum of 5,000 square feet (464.5 sq metres) in size to prevent smaller gambling halls springing up. It also plans to limit the number of slot machines in smaller casinos but has set no upper limit for larger casinos.
The committee also called for a blanket ban on fruit machines in fish-and-chip shops and taxi offices. It recommended an independent assessment of the cost of a public awareness campaign and counselling for problem gamblers - with the industry to foot the bill. Casinos' gaming areas should be non-smoking to protect employees from passive smoking, the report said. Despite its reservations, the committee said the bill should be put to parliament as soon as possible, by the end of the current session, to be carried over into the 2004-2005 session.
"We make recommendations...both in relation to policy and drafting, but there is no reason why the gambling bill should not be introduced in the current session of parliament," said John Greenway, chairman of the committee.
SOURCE: Reuters.
