EGBA welcomes safety principles Politics
The EGBA has welcomed the launch of the first industry-led Europe-wide principles to enhance online safety for chil- dren by the ICT Coalition for a Safer Internet. 25 companies from across the information and communications tech- nology sector including leading European online gambling companies are signatories to the principles. The principles complement the recent online child protection initiatives from European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes.
UK’s Gambling Commission defends cost of regulation
The main complaint of the Gambling Commission - the cost of regulation - got a good airing at the Select Committee’s oral evidence hearing.
REGULATION T
he Gambling Commission has found itself on the back foot while defending
its fees to the Culture Media Sport Select Committee. The Committee, which is holding an inquiry into the UK’s gambling legislation, provided several examples of independent bookmak- ers who have been left out of pocket compared to bigger competitors, and Gambling Commission chief executive Jenny Williams was asked to explain the reasoning behind its fee bands. She admitted that a banded system will create problems for businesses operating on the edges of the boundaries, but sug- gested that there are practi- cal problems in having a completely sliding scale. “This structure is to allow for people who are going to expand much more, and then you get into a more rea- sonable fee. That is the problem with banded fees. There are all sorts of prob- lems with having sliding fees, which would be much more resource-intensive. I’m afraid that in the real world there are practical trade-offs to be made.
“If you have lots and lots of bands or a sliding scale, you will have much more bureaucracy and coming and going with changing fees. There is a trade-off to be made. We have changed the bandings, or are propos- ing changing them, to get round some of the big step jumps. We may not have got it right. We consult, we talk to the industry, but in the end, we have to take a sensi- ble overall view. There will be problems at the bound- aries.”
She added: “It seems the sensible trade-off at the moment. I might take issue with your saying that we would not change our minds; we have been chang- ing our mind in response to points put to us the whole time. We learn, they learn, but we cannot make a fee system infinitely variable without huge bureaucracy, so there is a trade-off.” The overall cost of the Gambling Commission compared to the pre-Gam- bling Act days was also raised, but Williams con- tends that the expense was always going to increase once the government decided that the betting industry needed greater regulation.
She said: “The view was taken that it was not accept- able any more to have such light-touch regulation of betting once operators got licensed, I think they paid something like £30 a year. That was not being regu- lated in the way that Parlia- ment decided it wanted bookmakers to be regu- lated. That is one change, and there was inevitably going to be a big increase in fees from that point of view. Now we have learned more about the industry, and the industry has learned more about the Act - there were some quite big changes in terms of the social respon- sibility measures, such as age verification - we are trying, as the latest fees pro- posals show, to bring those costs down. It is a different ball game now with machines from what it was 30 years ago.”
Meanwhile, chairman Philip Graf told the commit- tee that it was not the Com- mission’s job to promote the industry. He explained: “First, in our particular case, we are not an economic reg- ulator. Sometimes people who have advocated that we should be a promoter of the industry, as it were, perhaps confuse us with
PHILIP GRAF: ‘OUR JOB IS TO PROVIDE SOLID, GOOD REGULATION’
POLITICSBRIEFS
VENNIX LAUDS SAFE BET
ANALYSIS
The Select Committee pushed and pushed the Gambling Commission about its expense and expertise; even questioning why Jenny Williams was getting paid more than the prime minister at £160,000 a year (although she has waived bonuses in the past few years). Williams defended some of the expense of the Commission reasonably, but effectively left the door open for the Committee to make a recommendation as to how its licence fees should be structured. If the Committee’s report does suggest a change in approach, it will be interesting to see how the regulator deals with the high profile political pressure.
being an economic regula- tor. But even the responsi- bilities of those economic regulators - Ofcom, for example, of which I have some experience - are not about promoting the indus- try. They have duties towards the citizen and the consumer, which are their principal duties; the subor- dinate duties are about developing services and products for the benefit of the consumer.
“The other point here is the issue of balance and of where the Commission is. If we were to end up pro- moting an industry, it would cause real issues for our credibility with wider stakeholders and our ability to be properly objective and to fulfil our duties. I think our job is to provide solid, good regulation, which encourages a responsible industry and ensures a com- petitive industry.”
BISL pushing the case for the leisure industry LOBBYING B
usiness in Sport & Leisure (BISL) is aiming to raise the profile of the gambling indus- try as a whole by reinforcing the important role that the leisure sector plays in the national economy. BISL chief executive Simon Johnson believes by contin- ually championing the leisure sector as a whole to key decision makers and those with political influence, the government will recognise the contribution made by businesses and be more inclined to treat them favourably.
Johnson believes that some sectors in the leisure industry, such as pubs and gambling, are per- ceived as being politically toxic, and that promoting a positive nar- rative about leisure will draw the sting out of negotiations with politi-
18 BettingBusinessInteractive • FEBRUARY 2012
cians and regulators. However, he added that BISL
didn’t intend to step on the toes of organisations such as the ABB, but compliment them. He said: “It is not our job to duplicate the good work that the existing trade associ- ations carry out. It is our job to provide added value, enhance what the trade associations do and create a better business environment for the industry.”
SIMON JOHNSON: ‘IT IS OUR JOB TO PROVIDE ADDED VALUE’
Johnson is also keen to see some of the smaller operators join BISL in order to ensure that their voice is heard among the messages that the organisation sends out. While BISL intends to concentrate on the higher level of lobbying, it’s not averse to getting down to the intri- cate detail on some issues where it feels it can help. The organisation’s
Gambling Working Group, headed up by Nick Harding, holds quar- terly meetings in order to discuss such issues. At the moment, it is looking at issues around the Trien- nial Review of machine stakes and prizes and the implementation of Machine Gaming Duty.
Johnson said that BISL is pushing for greater political representation within government, suggesting that the leisure industry should get its own dedicated minister, which he suggests should be the culture sec- retary, in order to fairly represent a sector that employs 27 per cent of all working young people. In order to underline the leisure industry’s contribution to the UK economy, BISL has commissioned a report into the size of the sector, which it aims to publish later this year.
ABB chief executive Dirk Vennix is pleased that the Safe Bet Alliance, a collaborative initiative which includes the association, Metropolitan Police and Community Union has achieved third place in the Home Office’s 2011 Tilley awards. He commented: “The results of the initiative in the past twelve months have been very positive. Figures in May of this year showed that betting shop robberies in London have declined 46 per cent in the past twelve months. Bookmakers are important parts of the communities we serve - we want to see safer communities and safer streets. Reducing betting shop robberies is a crucial part of doing this.”
TWEAK TO EMPLOYMENT LAW
The DCMS has issued a consultation on changes to the law relating to the employment of children and young persons at a track with a betting premises licence. The government wants to create an exemption under section 55 of the Gambling Act 2005, allowing the employment of children and young persons in non- gambling roles on tracks (such as racecourses) which hold a betting premises licence. Previously, under 18s could take roles such as jockeys, stable lads, kitchen staff, and the government wishes to restore the position, so young people aren’t unfairly and unintentionally excluded from employment in these places.
BHA PUSHES FOR MORE
Paul Bittar, CEO of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), has suggested that the record figure of 6.15m racegoers in 2011 means that Levy income should also rise, despite the fact that greater attendances should mean greater income for the sport anyway. He commented: “As a measure of the sport’s popularity it is excellent news. However, it does also highlight the discrepancy with the sport’s overall financial health and it underlines how the current levy system is failing British racing when attendances break new records yet the Levy income continues to decline. The BHA is intent on working with other key industry parties to rectify this situation going forward.”
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