Gambling bill announced in Queen's Speech
All UK-facing operators will be required to secure a Gambling Commission licence
The United Kingdom’s Gambling (licensing and advertising) bill will be introduced in the current parliamentary session after being announced today as part of the Queen’s speech at the State Opening of Parliament.
The bill, which was last week deemed compatible with EU law following prelegislative scrutiny by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, pledges to introduce a point of consumption tax (POCT) for all operators taking bets from the UK. Those operators taking UK bets or advertising into the country would be required to obtain a licence from the Gambling Commission. A DCMS spokesperson suggested the bill could now be introduced as soon as this week.
Furthermore, all egaming operators will need to demonstrate efforts opposing illegal gambling, and overseas operators will be required to report suspicious betting patterns to the Commission for the first time.
Businesses will also have to contribute to research, education and treatment of gambling addiction, and comply with measures to protect vulnerable people and children.
The official text of the legislation describes it as being “designed to extend the scope of the regulatory regime currently governing remote gambling and provide greater consumer protection for customers in Britain”.
Early details of the draft POCT legislation first came to light in December last year, with industry representatives invited to provide responses to the draft text.
Under the existing egaming framework, those operators with “key equipment” located in the UK require a Gambling Commission licence, while those licensed in Gibraltar, the EU or white listed territories – including Alderney, Antigua and the Isle of Man – are permitted to advertise in the country.
This system was described as “flawed” in a paper entitled Draft Gambling (Licensing & Advertising) Bill, introduced by Minister for Sport and Tourism Hugh Robertson. The paper, published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, added that it could no longer ensure the protection of British consumers.
As a result, the paper explained, “it is essential, now more than ever, for the for the protections envisaged in the Gambling Act 2005 to be afforded to all British consumers, regardless with whom they choose to gamble”.
“The government is committed to strengthening the regulation of remote gambling to ensure that effective consumer protection measures are afforded to all British based consumers,” it concluded.
A number of Gibraltar licensees have come together to form the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) with the aim of challenging the POCT element of the bill. Those involved include Ladbrokes, 888 and Gala Coral. However the Select Committee last week expressed its “confidence” that “any challenge to the legislation would be unlikely to succeed”.