Finance Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at on 25 June 2009.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry
Parliamentary Secretary, HM Treasury
Welcome back to the chair, Mr. Atkinson. There are a couple of points I wanted to conclude with. The clause simply corrects a deficiency in the original legislation for remote gaming duty to ensure that the original policy intentions are delivered.
My hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire asked about the ability of bingo clubs to provide terminals, in order to offer, within the club, remote bingo from operators based in the UK or elsewhere. That is an interesting but complex area and we will continue to explore it. I thank my hon. Friend for raising the issue. We will look at it in more detail, although the social regulation falls under the remit of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Gambling Commission, and we will continue to work closely with them.
My hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth asked about companies moving offshore and offering gambling products to UK residents from low-tax jurisdictions. When we introduced remote gaming duty in 2007, we looked closely at options for taxing such operators on the basis of the place of consumption, but concluded at the time that it would be difficult to ensure compliance with any such regime without co-ordinated international agreement.
I noted before the Adjournment that the DCMS is soon to conduct a review of remote gambling legislation in the UK to report to Parliament before the end of 2009. The review will explore ways to make the system of gambling regulation in Britain fairer to ensure a more level playing field between British businesses and their overseas counterparts, and we will continue to look carefully at that from a tax perspective.
Clause 114 removes inconsistencies in legislation to bring remote bingo within the scope of remote gaming duty. Without it there is a danger that remote bingo offered from the UK could be left untaxed.
