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Research Paper Template Research and Library Services Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 19/09 25 September 2008 REGULATION AND CONTROL OF GAMBLING Research and Library Services This research paper has been prepared for the Committee on Social Development. The paper briefly outlines the current legislative framework in Northern Ireland, and details the new arrangements enacted in Great Britain under the Gambling Act 2005. The paper also includes a synopsis of the current position in the Republic of Ireland. Library Research Papers are compiled for the benefit of Members of The Assembly and their personal staff. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff but cannot advise members of the general public. Providing research and information services to the Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland Assembly, Research and Library Service SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS • Northern Ireland has its own legislative system of gambling, which differs from that which operates in GB. • Advances in technology, such as online gambling, necessitated an update to the GB system • The GB legislation has an explicit focus on the promotion of socially responsible gambling • Surveys suggest that the prevalence of gambling has been steadily decreasing over the past decade • Figures for problem gambling estimate that around a quarter of a million people in GB are problem gamblers • Aside from charities aimed at helping problem gamblers, treatment within the Health Service is based around generic mental-health provision Providing research and information services to the Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland Assembly, Research and Library Service SOME FACTS ABOUT GAMBLING Gambling is permissible all year round in GB, except Christmas Day Gross gaming yield in GB for 2006–07 was £9·9 billion Industry turnover in GB for 2006–07 was £84·3 million The National Lottery is the most popular form of gambling in the UK Of the £29 billion donated to good causes, £766,197,863 has been allocated to organisations and bodies in Northern Ireland The first law relating to gambling is thought to date from 1388, which prevented the playing of games on the Sabbath Providing research and information services to the Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland Assembly, Research and Library Service CONTENTS Section Page Northern Ireland 1 Great Britain 2 Historical summary 2 Evolution of the new legislation 2 Gambling Act 2005 3 The licensing objectives 4 The licensing regime 4 Licensing arrangements 4 Operating licences 4 Personal licences 5 Premises licences 5 The Gambling Commission 5 Investigatory Powers 6 Casinos 7 Remote gambling 7 Advertising 8 Foreign advertising and the White List 8 Problem gambling 9 Treatment 9 British Gambling Prevalence Survey 10 National Lottery 10 Responsible gambling 11 Ireland 12 Reforming the law 12 Future Developments 12 Discussion 13 Providing research and information services to the Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland Assembly, Research and Library Service NORTHERN IRELAND 1. Betting and gaming in Northern Ireland is regulated by the social policy branch of the Department for Social Development. Neither the current regulatory body, the Gambling Commission, nor its predecessor, the Gaming Board of Great Britain, has any remit in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland also has its own legislation. The principal statute is the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, as amended, and associated subordinate legislation. The National Lottery is a reserved matter under Schedule 2 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. 2. There is a dearth of statistical information on the prevalence of gambling in Northern Ireland. However, figures are available in respect of the number of betting establishments and the number of people employed by the industry. The gambling industry in Northern Ireland employs over 2,200 people.1 There are a total of 227 licensed bookmakers, four licensed betting tracks2, and 331 betting shops. Following the acquisition of Northwest Bookmakers in 2006 and Eastwood Bookmakers in 2008, Ladbrokes3 is the largest bookmaker in Northern Ireland, with around 70 premises. This equates to a market share of 23%. THE NORTHERN IRELAND SYSTEM 3. Betting and gambling in Northern Ireland are regulated through various forms of certificates, licences and permits, depending on the relevant form of gambling, which are issued by a range of bodies. Courts are responsible for granting licences for bookmakers, bookmaking offices and bingo clubs. Courts also issue licences for the supply and maintenance of gaming machines. District councils are responsible for the issue of permits to operate amusement arcades and gaming machine centres. Track licenses are issued by the Department for Social Development. 4. One main difference between the Northern Ireland legislative framework and GB law is the retention of what is known as the ‘demand criteria’. Under article 12(4)(j) of the 1985 Order, a county court can only grant a bookmaking office licence where there is a requisite demand.4 5. Certain aspects of the law on betting and gambling were updated through the Betting and Gaming (Northern Ireland) 2004, such as allowing on-course betting on Sundays5, and the lifting of the prohibition on the advertisement of bingo. 1 Employment figures are from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment’s 2005 census of employment. 2 There are two horseracing tracks at Downpatrick and Down Royal, and two dog-racing tracks at Brandywell and Drumbo. 3 Ladbrokes UK operations cover well over 2,000 betting shops. The company is also the largest bookmaker in the Republic, where it operates over 200 betting shops. 4 Article 12(4)(j) states that a county court must be satisfied that: ‘having regard to the demand in the locality in which the premises to which the application relates are situated for facilities afforded by licensed offices, the number of such offices for the time being available (including any premises for which a licence is provisionally granted) to meet that demand is inadequate. 5 Unlike GB and the Republic, where off-course betting is legal on Sundays, the prohibition on Sunday opening for bookmaking offices still applies in Northern Ireland. Providing research and information services to the Northern Ireland Assembly 1 Northern Ireland Assembly, Research and Library Service GREAT BRITAIN 6. There has been legislative regulation of gambling for more than five centuries, with ‘moral, social and economic imperatives’ shaping the legislation.6 Changes in gambling laws have largely been predicated by changing societal attitudes. The Gambling Act 2005 is the most recent reform of gambling legislation, which updated several statues that had been in force for several decades. In addition to moving towards a more deregulated market, the main impetus for the new Act was to reflect the changes in the availability of betting and gambling mediums through new technologies, such as internet and interactive betting, and to address social concerns in relation to problem gambling. HISTORICAL SUMMARY 7. Prior to the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005, gaming and betting was regulated by three statutes: Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1963, Gaming Act 1968; and the Lotteries and Amusement Act of 1976. The industry was regulated by the Gaming Board for Great Britain. 8. A review of gambling legislation was announced in December 1999, and the existing legislation was replaced with the Gambling Act 2005. The 2005 Act was implemented in stages. The Gaming Board for Great Britain was replaced with a new regulatory body, the Gambling Commission, which is responsible for monitoring and regulating all forms of betting and gambling with the exceptions of the National Lottery and spread betting, which are regulated by the National Lottery Commission and the Financial Services Authority respectively. 9. The Acts passed during the 1960s were designed to regulate commercial gaming, which was ‘out of control’. Furthermore, the Gaming Act 1968 ‘recognised that commercial gaming could no longer be suppressed, but instead sought to bring it under strict controls.’7 EVOLUTION OF THE NEW LEGISLATION 10. While the 1968 Act served its purpose for the time when it was enacted, attitudinal changes to gambling, and, perhaps more so, technological advances in how betting and gaming were offered, meant that, in more recent times, the legislative framework was rooted ‘in an era when gambling was widely regarded as an activity which was at best morally questionable.’8 11. The process of reforming gambling law in GB began in 2000, when the Government established the independent Gambling Review Body, which was tasked with devising proposals for a new legislative framework. Aware of the limits as regards legislating for betting gaming as ‘complete prohibition or complete deregulation’, the review body concluded that: 6 Roy Light (2007) The Gambling Act 2005: Regulatory Containment and Market Control, Modern Law Review, Volume 70(4), page 627. 7 Gambling Review Body (July 2001) Gambling Review Report, The Stationery Office, London, page 12. 8 Department for Culture, Media and Sport (March 2002) A safe bet for success – modernising Britain’s gambling laws, The Stationery Office, London, page 3. Providing research and information services to the Northern Ireland Assembly 2 Northern Ireland Assembly, Research and Library Service ‘The most difficult general issue that we have had to solve concerns that familiar dilemma between the desire to permit free choice and the fear that such choice may lead to harm either to the individual or to society more widely.’9 12. The review body’s report was published in July 2001 and included some 176 recommendations, which were broadly accepted by Government. A Government White Paper, ‘A safe bet for success’, was issued in March 2002. The draft Bill was published in November 2003, followed by additional draft clauses in February and March 2004. The Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 18 October 2004 and received Royal Assent on 7 April 2005.
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