Clause 81 - Equipment
Gambling Bill
4:45 pm
Mr Malcolm Moss (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 299, in page 36, line 3, at end insert
'save that no such provision may limit the numbers of machines or the player positions on machines— (i)designed or adapted for the playing of bingo, and (ii)used in accordance with a condition attached to a bingo operating licence under section 73 by virtue of section 81(2)(b)'.
The amendment is designed to prevent mechanised cash bingo units and other equipment used to play bingo from having restrictions placed on them as part of the operating licence. The decision to install such equipment should be based on the space available and player demand, and should not be the subject of licence conditions. Any issues relating to the operation of a particular game within bingo clubs is a matter with which the board should deal at industry level, not individual licence level.
Mechanised cash bingo, commonly known as MCB, is an interval game that is played in most bingo clubs. As its name suggests, it is played using electronic equipment rather than the traditional paper bingo ticket, and it is very popular with players.
The player uses a board set out on the table and a fixed set of numbers. The playing positions are linked to a central computer that randomly generates the numbers to be called, but the game is called in a normal way by a bingo caller. From a regulatory point of view, it is treated in the same way as main stage bingo. Most bingo clubs have MCB playing positions at all seats, so that those who wish to play in the interval may do so without having to sit in a particular chair or area of the club.
MCB has been around for 20 years. When it was first introduced, the Gaming Board wanted to monitor its influence to make sure that it did not take over from traditional main stage games. To address concerns, the industry agreed with the board to have a voluntary code of conduct to limit the number of playing positions. Over time, it became clear that it was popular with bingo players, and the limit on seating was irritating because people had to make sure that they sat in the position next to one of the terminals in order to play in the interval. The Gaming Board looked into that and acknowledged that that form of bingo created no harm. The number of playing positions available was increased, until December 2002 when the limits were removed completely.
The industry fears that the clause, particularly subsection (2), could give the commission powers to set limits in the operating licences on MCB terminals. There has never been any discussion with the industry about the Bill's implications, so this matter has come to it as a bit of a surprise. If the Minister can accept the amendment just to clarify the situation, that will be brilliant. If he cannot, perhaps he can give the industry an assurance that the clause is not designed in any way to catch MCB.