Clause 14 - General betting duty: overseas bet-brokers
Finance Bill
9:30 am
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch, Conservative)
Will the Minister explain how these provisions are consistent with European Union law and the open market? It seems to be a protectionist measure and I had assumed, perhaps naively and not being a betting man, that there was an open market in betting within the EU. I had understood that one of the rationales for having our own national lottery was that if we did not, other European Union countries could sell their lottery tickets in this country.
Perhaps the Paymaster General will also address the issue of internet betting-- another subject with which I am not familiar--which may be affected by the clause.