HC Deb 21 November 2001 vol 375 cc319-20W
Mr. McCabe

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she will take to implement the recommendations by the Gaming Board for Great Britain on the maximum stakes and prizes in gaming machines. [17357]

Mr. Caborn

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have considered the Board's recommendations very carefully. We are grateful to them and to the industry associations for the work which has gone into their proposals.

We have also had to bear in mind the report of the Gambling Review, chaired by Sir Alan Budd, which has also made recommendations about the maximum stakes and prizes in gaming machines. These recommendations of the Gambling Review differed from those made by the Gaming Board in a number of important respects.

Having considered both sets of recommendations in detail—and in the light of the period of public consultation on the Gambling Review, which ended on 31 October—we have decided to place before Parliament an Order under the Gaming Act 1968 which would increase the maximum prize from an all-cash Amusements with Prizes gaming machine to £25 and the maximum prize from a jackpot gaming machine in a casino to £2,000. That Order will be laid before both Houses shortly.

We have decided to propose no further changes to the stakes and prizes in gaming machines for the present.

The changes which we are proposing are supported both by the Gaming Board and the report of the Gambling Review. The Review concluded however that increases in the amounts which can be paid out by gaming machines should be accompanied by changes in the law to make it an offence for people under 18 to play them or to allow people under 18 to play them. It also recommended significant strengthening of industry agreements on preventing under-age play.

We shall be considering possible changes to the law. In the meantime, we look to the industry to play the fullest and most active part in improving the present arrangements to prevent under-age play of gaming machines. I am asking the Gaming Board for Great Britain to assess whether there are practical improvements in this area, and we will take close account of their conclusions before reaching any conclusions as to further changes in the regulation of gaming machines.