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Gambling Act (On-course Bookmakers)

Thank you, Mr. Conway, for giving me the opportunity to participate in this important debate. Before I start my contribution, it would be remiss of me not to pass on my congratulations to the new Minister, who is a fellow Yorkshireman. His predecessor, the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Central (Mr. Caborn), who was the longest-serving Minister for Sport ever, is also a Yorkshireman. He has an advantage over the current Minister: he is from south Yorkshire, rather than west Yorkshire, and as we all know, south Yorkshire is the best part of Yorkshire. I will show that I agree with many of the comments made by hon. Members from all parties by quoting part of a letter from one of my constituents who is an on-course bookmaker. He is called Mr. Chris Johnson and he lives in Harlington, Doncaster, in my constituency. He has been an on-course bookmaker for considerable time. I will not read the whole letter, but those parts that I think are most relevant, as it encapsulates the problem of the current impasse that we face. I have, of course, recently sent the letter to the Minister’s predecessor and have not yet received a response, although I only sent it around three or four weeks ago. The letter states:"““Dear Sir, I am a racecourse bookmaker whose livelihood will be confiscated on 1 September 2012 as a consequence of the Gambling Act, which comes into force on 1 September 2007.””" The letter then goes into the history of the establishment of the National Joint Pitch Council, and I will carry on from that point. He says that the establishment of the NJPC was"““heralded as an opportunity to introduce new blood into the ring and to give bookmakers the comfort of a stable career option at the end of which they would have a marketable asset with which to finance their retirement." He continues:"““As a consequence bookmakers have invested substantial sums in buying into the ring and to date it is estimated that the value of bookmakers’ positions is in excess of £100 million. Many bookmakers have invested heavily into the ring, often financing these purchases out of savings or loans raised on the value of their houses.""During the drafting of the Gambling Bill it was decided by the DCMS that the levy board was to be abolished and hence it’s role in issuing ‘certificates of approval’, upon which bookmakers’ pitch tenure depends, disappeared and was not replaced by another mechanism. The Act provides for a period of 5 years, during which racecourses are restricted in the pitch fees they may charge, as has been the case since outlined in successive Acts, the latest being the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1963.""However, as a consequence of the omission in the Gambling Act to replace the function of issuing ‘certificates of approval’, the RCA has interpreted this as allowing ‘the confiscation of bookmakers’ positions from 1 September 2012’… I believe that it could not have been the intention of Parliament for bookmakers to have their assets confiscated in this way.””"