UK gambling laws
Published on Friday, November 28, 2003 5:49:47 PM
LONDON (Reuters) - The government will publish a draft bill today overhauling gambling laws, a step towards liberalising the 40 billion pound industry whose players include Hilton Group and Rank.
Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Tessa Jowell will announce broad details of the long-awaited bill in a speech with a written statement with fuller details to be issued to parliament, a departmental spokesman said.
The proposals will then go before a committee of members of parliament who will ensure a balance between deregulation and the protection of young and vulnerable people. The committee is due to report by mid-April 2004.
Only after that will a full bill be piloted through parliament and into law.
In a policy paper last year, the government said it would allow online gambling and give casinos the right to offer any form of legal gambling, including Las Vegas-style slot machines with unlimited prizes.
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