SPECIAL PROVISIONS AS TO GAMING FOR PRIZES (Hansard, 11 June 1968)

§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Elystan Morgan)
I beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.
This gives licensed gaming clubs the right to indulge in gaming for small prizes on conditions parallel to those under which, by virtue of Section 49 of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1963, as amended by Schedule 11 to the Bill, 79 such gaming may be provided, for example, by travelling showmen or at pleasure grounds and amusement arcades on permit from the local authority.
The right of a licensed club to provide this gaming is made absolute. It cannot be precluded by any conditions attached to a licence by the justices. Where, for instance, they issue a bingo club licence, the club concerned may indulge in gaming of this type in addition to bingo without losing any privileges which attach to a licence under Clause 20. Where the conditions of the new Clause are observed, they will operate to the exclusion of Clauses 13 and 14; that is to say, games of unequal chance may be played and charges made to the players irrespective of any restrictions required by or under those provisions.
I trust that the House will agree that it would be highly illogical that a club licensed for commercial gaming of a serious kind should be prevented from diversifying its activities as the bingo clubs often wish to do by providing occasional light-hearted amusements of the fairground type with strictly limited prizes. As it now stands, the Bill is meant to allow this, but the method that it adopts in Schedule 11 is to bring the licensed gaming clubs within the scope of Section 49 of the 1963 Act, thus entitling them to provide "amusements with prizes" under the terms of that Section, just as amusement arcades may now, but in the clubs' case without having to get a permit.
Many hon. Members will be aware that the argumentation in the case of Fox v. Adamson has, however, thrown doubt on the efficacy of this approach. It suggests that a game like bingo could not be played on the same premises under two different codes of law, sometimes in the form of "amusements with prizes" under Section 49 of the 1963 Act, and at other times in the form of gaming under Part II of this Bill.
The remedy which is adopted in the new Clause is to allow licensed clubs the equivalent of " amusements with prizes " but, as a variety of gaming—"gaming for prizes"—treated under Part II. This not only gets over the legal difficulty but has other advantages. In particular, it attracts the operation of Clause 12 of the Bill, thus confining participation in this form of gaming to members of the 80 club and their bona fide guests. It also attracts the penalty provisions of Clause 22 and Schedule 2, thus making breaches of the conditions punishable not merely by court proceedings but also by cancellation of the licence, at the discretion of the licensing justices. This may also be followed by the withdrawal by the Gaming Board of all or any of the certificates issued to the licence holder.
I do not think that I need go on to deal in detail with the subsections, but if comments are made by any hon. Members, I shall be very willing to do so.

§ Mr. Buck
We are grateful to the hon. Gentleman for explaining the purpose of the new Clause. At this stage, perhaps I might add that I am grateful to him for having allowed me to receive certain information through his Department which has caused me to understand some of the more technical Clauses to be moved today more readily than might otherwise have been the case.
As I understand it, the most significant part of the new Clause makes it clear that, in practice, bingo clubs can provide amusements with prizes within the same premises. On the whole, I am sure that it is acceptable to the House. However, there is some consternation among members of the Amusement Caterers Association about it, who feel that what they regard as this further concession to bingo halls and those having licensed bingo premises may be harmful to those who run arcades and so forth. But I have not had strenuous representations on that score, and no doubt the new Clause will be acceptable to those who operate within these spheres generally.
I welcome the Clause because of the enforceability point. Only yesterday, I was discussing various aspects of the Bill with those who have detailed knowledge of the operation of bingo halls and amusement arcades, who pointed out to me that in many bingo halls this has been going on for some time, there has not been proper enforcement, and the Clause represents a recognition of the state of affairs in many parts of the country already. It permits bingo halls to have gaming of a lesser character under the same roof, but there is no question of allowing in bingo halls hard gaming combined with bingo. That should be made 81 clear, because inevitably, the hon. Gentleman explained the Clause in somewhat technical language, which could not be avoided in a Clause of this character.
The Clause is eminently sensible. The technical side of enforceability follows the pattern found elsewhere in the Bill, and I find it totally acceptable.

§ Mr. Weitzman
I am grateful to the Government for having brought in the new Clause, because it cures a curious anomaly in the 1963 Act, and I raised the point in Committee. In Fox. v. Adamson, there was a clear decision that where amusements with prizes were offered in a bingo hall, the playing of bingo became illegal. I wonder if the Government will now do something about those who have been fined as a result of this so-called offence.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Eric Fletcher)
I have to announce a slight change in Mr. Speaker's provisional selection of Amendments. New Clause 3 will not now be moved, but it can be taken for debate with New Clause 5 and Government Amendments Nos. 100 and 101.