Written question asked by Anthony D Wright (Labour) on Monday, 17 December 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 January 2008. It was answered by Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour) on Monday, 7 January 2008 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Gambling

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to review the (a) size and (b) remit of the Gambling Commission.

Answer: There are no immediate plans to review the size or focus of the Gambling Commission. The Gambling Commission is the new regulator for the gambling industry and became fully operational from 1 September 2007. The Commission is still in its first operational cycle and has developed strategic objectives for the first three years to deliver its statutory objectives as set out in the Gambling Act 2005. The Commission's initial Corporate Plan will be reviewed after 18 months in light of its first year's experience as the regulator. In particular the review will consider the developing methods for assessing the level of risk within the gambling industry and the resource effectiveness of the Gambling Commission's approach (including an annual review of licence fees).

Secondary information