General election and gambling

[Bet Angel]

I've been asked by a magazine to look at the policies of the next incumbants at number ten downing street. I'll let you know what I find, if anything.

The long and short of it at the moment, having spoken to a few MP's, is that Labour is pro de-regulation and liberal laws surrounding gambling but Conservatives are a little more cautious and generally less than welcoming to all the de-regulation that has gone on. They are obviously pro business and enterprise so seem to have a balancing act on their hands.

I have asked for policy statements from both parties and will post up any responses I get.

[Mug]

What about the lib dems?

[footyfans]

I don't see why politicians should see themselves as guardians of the nations morals, especially in view of recent scandals and past misdemeanors! Indeed both church and state gamble as they both have large holdings in stocks and shares. Everyone who has an insurance policy gambles - with the odds heavily in favour of the insurance company!

[LeTiss]

If the Tories win, what sort of things do you think they're likely to tighten up?

[andyfuller]

What about the lib dems?

Exactly, what about them

[blackfriar]

I will be watching this with interest. I was going to ask the same thing here myself

[Iron]

Whilst that may be the case, I'd be surprised if the Tories tighten up the regulations regarding gambling. With extra regulation comes extra expenditure. Also, millions of people enjoy a flutter, and there doesn't seem to be much evidence of a groundswell of anti-gambling sentiment, so I'm not sure they would see tighter regulation as a vote winner.y

Jeff

[quote="Bet Angel"]Conservatives are a little more cautious and generally less than welcoming to all the de-regulation that has gone on. They are obviously pro business and enterprise so seem to have a balancing on their hands.
[quote]

[Bet Angel]

Conservative response: -

Conservatives want to support growth in the leisure market where gambling is a prominent sector.

The next Prevalence Study on gambling addiction will be published at the end of this year and we intend to treat the results with utmost scrutiny so that any increase in worrying patterns of behaviour are addressed.

We have consistently held the government to account over taxation and regulation issues that have affected the industry, such as the last year’s unfair tax on bingo, and most recently the regulation of the remote sector. There has been a distinct lack of joined up thinking between the Treasury and the DCMS over gambling-related issues under the Labour Government. We plan to replace this with a sensible degree of coordination so that the industry’s challenges are properly responded to.

[Bet Angel]

When I pressed on specific policies they were fairly non comittal. The overall view I got was that they don't particulary support gambling but will tolerate it as it is an important contributor to the economy. I expect policy will address business and social issues in a stronger manner than the current incumbents.

[LeTiss]

All I'm interested in Peter, is whether a change of Government will have any impact on what we do for a living!

Sometimes 'better the devil you know' is a good policy

[whereistom]

The problem we face is the same as any political decision that is enforced.

What the parties say they are going to do pre election and what they actually deliver when in power are often 2 completely different beasts.

This in my view is the main cause of half the population not even voting.

The conservatives slogan is " Time for change " (or something similar)

I think you will all agree that change in the gambling regulation would scare the crap out of all of us.....

[hgodden]

I'll be watching this with as much interest as anyone else but aside from blocking access to betfair in the UK (10,000/1 that would happen) or going after pro gamblers I can't see there being any tangible threat to anyone here?? Am I missing something or is there something else they could do that could severly impact upon our trading careers?

[andyfuller]

Not tied directly to the General Election, but there is a lot of talk at the moment about how racing is funded and how the Parties want to move away from a Levy based system. There are quite a lot of people in racing in favour of a pricing system based on Turnover rather than Gross Profits.

During the next Parliament I would expect there to be changes to how the sport is funded which could have ramifications for all traders not just those who trade on horse racing.

[Iron]

I wonder this is another way of saying 'If the report says that gambling-induced debt is breaking up families, we'll launch some tough measures just to show the Daily Mexpress how seriously we take this matter'.

Maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age...

Jeff

Conservative response: -

The next Prevalence Study on gambling addiction will be published at the end of this year and we intend to treat the results with utmost scrutiny so that any increase in worrying patterns of behaviour are addressed.

[rogerpalmtree]

I'll be watching this with as much interest as anyone else but aside from blocking access to betfair in the UK (10,000/1 that would happen) or going after pro gamblers I can't see there being any tangible threat to anyone here?? Am I missing something or is there something else they could do that could severly impact upon our trading careers?

I kinda agree with you. I don't realy get how the tory's, (even if they were too tighten up policy on certain area's of gambling), would stop or even affect people like us. Unless they were to ban betting exchanges outright I don't really see what they would do. A tax on people trading is all I can really think of. again we might be missing something...