Clause 35 - Power to amend section 34
Gambling Bill
9:55 am
Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)
I beg to move amendment No. 22, in clause 35, page 16, line 15, after '10(1)', insert
'subject to any specified exceptions.'.
This amendment seeks to allow for specified exceptions should the Secretary of State make an order extending the use of premises for gambling offences to include using premises to provide facilities for spread betting. As hon. Members will be aware, spread betting is excluded from regulation under the Bill. That is because spread betting is properly regulated under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
However, we are concerned about the effect that future developments in spread betting products may have on the number and types of places where spread
betting is offered to members of the public. That is why a reserved power is written into the Bill to allow the Secretary of State to make it an offence to use premises to offer spread betting to members of the public, should it become necessary for public protection reasons.
The amendment to the reserve power permits the Secretary of State to make exceptions where the premises' offence is applied to spread betting. For example, a bank or other financial institution may, in the future, want to offer their customer a financial product that constitutes spread betting within the meaning of the Bill. There may be very good policy reasons why the bank should be allowed to do so, and therefore should be exempt from regulation under the Bill. The amendment would serve to future-proof the Bill and to ensure that legitimate commercial enterprises are not subject to undue regulation.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 35, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clauses 36 and 37 ordered to stand part of the Bill.