Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 4:32 pm on 3 May 2007.
Lord Howard of Rising
Deputy Chief Whip, Whips, Shadow Minister, Treasury, Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions, Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport), Culture, Media & Sport
4:32,
3 May 2007
My Lords, we on these Benches also broadly support the orders. On the matter of the tracks and allowing children, will the Minister tell the House the sort of tracks where he envisages gambling taking place, which are not horse or dog-racing tracks? It is probably my ignorance, but I cannot think of a large number of those.
As has been said, it is interesting that the Secretary of State is going ahead with these regulations when the order establishing the very casinos that this order purports to regulate has been annulled by this House.
There is an anomaly on which I should be grateful for the Minister's views that has already been commented on by the noble Lord, Lord Lee. Under the 1968 Act, casinos are allowed only 20 gaming machines and no sports betting, but the casinos under the 2005 Act will be allowed to have 80 to 150 gaming machines and will be allowed to take sports bets. As the noble Lord commented, this is a basis for a challenge to the Government under judicial review.
In Another place on
"I do not believe that that judgment is in conflict with competition law and I am advised that it is not"—[Official Report, Commons Standing Committee B, 9/11/04; col. 41.]
Will the Minister explain why a judicial review is due to start on
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