§ Mr. PendryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent his Department and the Gaming Board are monitoring the establishment and operation of the privately promoted National Health Service lottery with a view to assessing the implications for Government policy towards the geographical extent of, and size of prizes offered by, lotteries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenThe Department and the Gaming Board are taking a close interest in any information about this lottery which is available, because of the promoters' statements that they have found a means within the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 to offer a first prize considerably in excess of the maximum amount which the law allows for a single lottery. The Gaming Board has recently brought to the notice of the Crown Prosecution Service aspects of the enterprise, to consider whether or not they may be in breach of the 1976 Act.