Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Viscount Astor (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 29 November 2005.

Internet Gambling: Age Verification

Question: My Lords, the Minister said that the industry has a verification process which he agrees works well both electronically and manually. But does he also agree that the great danger at the moment lies with the Treasury? If the Treasury increases the tax rate on Internet gambling organisations based in this country, they will just go abroad. It will then be impossible to verify whether foreign-based operators are behaving as they should.

Answer: My Lords, we are concerned about foreign-based gambling facilities, which are quite extensive. British operations on the Internet are in the minority. We are taking steps, for instance, to ensure that unless an organisation complies with the code of practice and meets our standards we will restrict its capacity to advertise its facilities in Europe. We will need a Europe-wide decision on that, but we are fully apprised of the issue to which the noble Viscount rightly draws attention.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 676 c103
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Children Banks Credit cards Gambling Internet Proof of identity Young people Debit cards Age assurance
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk