Gambling review update

In the Gambling Consultation responses document, the Department stated that it received 239 responses. Of those that responded to the issue of removing the £1 stake for a society lottery, 34 stated that they strongly agreed with the removal of the limits. A further 169 stated that they neither agreed nor disagreed, and only three respondents stated that they were opposed to the removal of the £1 limit. 

Interestingly, the consultation responses document identified that approximately “200 organisations are registered with district councils as a society’s lottery." However, the Department only received responses from 26 (non-gambling industry) organisations.

In a briefing to the Committee for Social Development, 6 October 2011, Department officials outlined the key issues from the responses to the consultation. The Minister for Social Development is currently considering the feedback from the consultation and will have to decide if the legislation needs to be rewritten or if changes can be made to certain sections of it. Department officials explained that depending on the route taken, minor changes could be brought forward within a year, but if significant changes are to be made then new primary legislation would be required, which could take several years to implement. 

On the issue of online gambling, Department officials acknowledged “that there is a strong trend towards online gambling providers moving off-shore for tax reasons.”  They informed the Committee that the UK Government and the EU are looking at the current system of remote gambling and advised the Committee that they are monitoring policy developments on this issue. 

Download NICVA’s response to the consultation below