Clause 122 - Exemption for small-scale operators
Gambling Bill
11:00 am
Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)
I understand the motivation of the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) in trying to provide some certainty to gambling operators by offering a definition of a small-scale operator. That motivation is also clear from what the hon. Member for South-West Hertfordshire (Mr. Page) has just said.
The definition provided by the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire, relying on a number of staff in each outlet, would make for some potentially perverse outcomes. It would seem to cover major betting companies, which could generally have fewer than 10 staff per office. I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman intends that, but it could be interpreted from his amendment. More importantly, it is more sensible to deal with the matter in secondary legislation, where there is a better possibility of shaping solutions for different circumstances and of taking account of developments over time without having to come back to Parliament for new primary legislation. That is what we are trying to do.
Besides future-proofing the legislation, we are trying to take the best of the 1968 Act and include it in this Bill. We want flexibility. As we and the industry have acknowledged, developments in technology quickly bring new styles of operation, which require fewer staff needing personal licensing. It would therefore be foolish to get tied down with the definition that the hon. Gentleman asks for. The clause will focus on the operator with a small number of staff and a small number of premises, and license some racecourse bookmakers as well. It is far better to leave this matter open to interpretation rather than tie a definition to the Bill.