Clause 41 - Provision of unlawful facilities abroad
Gambling Bill
10:30 am
Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)
I sympathise with the principle behind amendment No. 143. I agree that we must be transparent in our decision making, and that other states must be clear about the framework within which
the British gambling industry operates. However, the amendment risks restricting the Government's flexibility in meeting the demands of the rapidly evolving gambling environment. The criteria for prohibiting a particular territory must be able to evolve as quickly as that environment. The Secretary of State may need to consider matters as diverse as the global market, international agreements and religious and cultural issues. She must be able to move quickly to meet new concerns not set out in the existing criteria. It may not be possible to anticipate every circumstance in which a decision has to be made, so it may not be possible to give an exhaustive description of the criteria.
Amendment No. 151 is less easy to sympathise with. The Government believe in the principles of free trade, and those principles apply equally to a properly regulated gambling industry as to any other. The United States Government have sought to limit their citizens' access to non-US gambling sites. That is a matter for that Government. I see no reason for this Government to legislate on the issue. We have maintained that it is for gambling operators to decide whether they accept customers from countries where particular forms of gambling are prohibited. Some operators have decided not to accept customers from the United States; others continue to do so. This is a commercial decision for operators. I therefore urge the hon. Gentleman to withdraw the amendment.