Policy Statement for Regulation of Gambling in Jersey
October 2009
Introduction
This document sets out ministerial policy regarding gambling, licensing and enforcement and the Minister’s view on the proposed Gambling Commission’s (the Commission) social responsibility functions and licensing objectives in the event the States should pass the draft Gambling Commission Law and associated legislation. The Minister will use this framework to form a basis of written guidance and directions to the Commission under Article 5 of the proposed new law.
Guiding Principles
The licensing principles are set out in the Law and are as follows:
- gambling should be regulated in accordance with generally accepted international standards to prevent fraud and money laundering, and should not be permitted to be a source of crime;
- gambling should be verifiably fair to consumers of those services;
- gambling should always be conducted responsibly and with safeguards necessary to protect children and vulnerable people.
In exercising its functions under the Law, the Commission must always have regard to these licensing principles. The Commission will only permit gambling if it considers it reasonably consistent with pursuit of the licensing principles.
This statement will be reviewed by the Minister from time to time and revised after consultation with the proposed Commission when appropriate.
Statutory Functions
The Commission’s functions will mainly comprise three key areas: licensing, compliance and enforcement. In particular, the Commission has the power to:
- determine applications for operating licences and permits, specify the conditions to be contained in such licences and permits, limit the duration of such licences and determine applications to vary or renew operating licences;
- undertake activities for the purpose of assessing compliance with the Law and with any licence or permit condition, code of practice or other provision made by or by virtue of the Law, and also for the purpose of assessing whether an offence is being committed under or by virtue of the Law. To request information from licence holders and to carry out reviews and inspections of any regulated entity;
- take regulatory action against an licence holder following a review including the power to issue a formal warning (notices), to attach, remove or amend a licence condition, to suspend or revoke a licence in relation to offences under the Law.
Development of policies and procedures
This Statement of principles for licensing and regulation is the foundation for the work of the Commission. The Minister expects the Commission to develop a number of policies which build on the principles in this document and govern how Commission will carry out its work, including:
- Licensing, compliance and enforcement policy statement;
- Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice;
- Complaints procedure; and
- Corporate governance framework.
What the Minister expects from applicants for licences
The Minister expects applicants for licences to the Commission will:
- demonstrate to the Commission that they are fit and proper persons to hold such a licence;
- ensure that the activities they plan to carry out will be conducted in a manner which minimises the risks to the licensing principles;
- work with the Commission in an open and co-operative way;
- disclose to the Commission anything which the Commission would reasonably expect to know.
What the Minister expects from licensees
The Minister expects licensees to conduct their gambling operations in a way that does not put the licensing principles at risk or harm the integrity of Jersey. Licence conditions and Codes of Practice will be issued to ensure this.
The Minister expects those holding licences to:
- comply with the Commission’s social responsibility directives;
- conduct their business with integrity;
- act with due care, skill and diligence;
- take care to organise and control their affairs responsibly and effectively and have adequate systems and controls to minimise the risks to the licensing principles;
- maintain adequate financial resources;
- have due regard to the interests of customers and treat them fairly;
- have due regard to the information needs of customers and communicate with them in a way that is clear and unambiguous, and allows them to make a properly informed judgment about whether to gamble;
- manage conflicts of interest fairly;
- work with the Commission in an open and co-operative way; and
- disclose to the Commission anything which the Commission would reasonably expect to know.
Applying principles to functions
The Minister expects the regulator to apply the following principles in exercising its functions under the Law. These principles have been formulated with a view to ensuring that the Commission regulates gambling in a transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and focused manner.
Regulating gambling in the public interest
The Commission will regulate gambling in the public interest, having regard to, and in pursuit of, the licensing principles in the Law. In doing so the Commission will work with licensees, permit holders and other stakeholders and will ensure that it takes into account:
- the need to protect the public;
- the need to maintain public confidence in the gambling industry and the Commission;
- the importance of declaring and upholding proper standards of conduct; and
- competence of licence holders.
Reviewing regulatory approach
The Commission will keep its regulatory approach under review, and will make changes to that approach when appropriate (for example, to reflect experience or new developments or guidance under Article 5).
Consultation
The Commission will consult on changes to its regulatory approach and follow States of Jersey best practice where it is appropriate to do so.
Decision making processes
The Commission will ensure that licensing and regulatory decisions are properly reasoned and evidence-based and undertaken in a timely manner.
Confirming licensing and regulatory decisions
The Commission will provide written notification of licensing and regulatory decisions, including:
- a clear explanation of the reasons on which the decision is based (in a level of detail proportionate to its impact); and
- details of any appeal mechanism(s).
Advice to the Minister
Observing Article 7, the Commission will provide the Minister with impartial and professional advice, in keeping with its core objectives, regarding the regulatory impact of any proposals to amend the gambling law or indeed identify any inherent conflicts with its guiding principles arising from its proposed mandate. The Minister will further charge the Commission to supply advice on:
- the incidence of gambling;
- the manner in which gambling is conducted;
- the effects of gambling;
- the regulation of gambling;
- the introduction, amendment or replacement of any enactment that relates to gambling.
The relevance of criminal convictions
The Commission will determine the weight it will attach to convictions for relevant offences and convictions for other offences committed by licence applicants or persons relevant to applications for operating licences and have regard to the nature and seriousness of the offence and the time which has elapsed since the offence was committed.
Failure to declare convictions
The Commission will attach significant weight to failure by a licence applicant to declare a conviction for a relevant offence or conviction for any other offence committed by it or a person relevant to the application, in the absence of a reasonable excuse for such failure.
The opportunity to make oral representations
The Commission will provide an opportunity for licence applicants to make oral representations to it in appropriate circumstances.
Minimum burden test
The Commission will ensure that its regulatory approach imposes the minimum burden necessary to promote the licensing principles. The Commission must take into account the regulatory impact on different types and sizes of licence applicant and licence holder and ensure, without compromising key licensing principles, it does not unduly hinder economic progress.
Provision of information
The Commission will keep the gambling industry fully informed of the requirements of the regulatory regime and provide general information, advice and guidance, both on request and on its own initiative, with a view to aiding compliance.
Complaints
The Commission will treat all complaints seriously and will address them in accordance with its published complaints procedure.
Adopting a risk-based approach
The Commission will adopt a risk-based approach to regulation to ensure that its resources are concentrated where they are needed and can be most effective.
Proportionality
The Commission will generally use the least intrusive regulatory tool to achieve compliance and will ensure that any action is proportionate to the importance of the matters to which it relates, having regard to its risk assessment.
Publication of regulatory action
The Commission will publish details of any regulatory action taken, except where it considers that this may have a disproportionately damaging effect on the licence holder.
Coordinating regulatory action
The Commission will take coordinated regulatory action with States bodies and regulators where it is appropriate to do so.
Cooperation with overseas authorities
The Commission, with the approval of the Attorney General, will assist allied overseas regulators to investigate breaches and offences perpetrated by mutual licensees if appropriate.
Promotion of licensing principles
The Minister expects the pursuance of licensing objectives to reflect those principles set out under the Commission Law, namely:
Gambling should be regulated in accordance with generally accepted international standards to prevent fraud and money laundering, and should not be permitted to be a source of crime.
The Commission will establish licensing, compliance and enforcement processes to prevent gambling from being a source or associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime.
To enable this objective the Commission will undertake thorough due diligence to ensure:
- only suitable applicants will be granted licences;
- the suitability of licence holders will be assessed on an ongoing basis as part of the Commission’s compliance activities;
- compliance activity is targeted where the risks to the licensing objectives are greatest;
- the suitability of licence holders will be reconsidered in the light of any subsequent criminal activity or association with such activity.
The Commission will take a serious view of applicants and licensees who have convictions for relevant offences. Each case will be considered on its merits, but there will be a presumption in favour of refusing an application or reviewing a licence in such cases.
The Commission will examine the corporate control structures and ownership of operators to enable the Commission to identify and satisfy itself of the integrity of controllers and beneficiaries of companies and others relevant to the operation of gambling.
The Commission will provide advice of compliance requisites to licensed operators and potential operators.
The Commission will provide guidance to parish authorities and to law enforcement agencies within Jersey.
The Commission will make available general advice to the public on what activities are permissible without a licence or permit.
The Commission will employ staff with the necessary skills and knowledge and will delegate to them the necessary powers they need to carry out compliance and enforcement functions.
The Commission will seek to build and maintain good liaison and working relationships with insular authorities, other allied regulators, regulatory associations and external law enforcement bodies. The Commission will work closely with these bodies and where permissible share relevant information.
Where the Commission becomes aware that there are problems arising from disorder at gambling premises, the Commission may decide to commence a review of the licence.
Gambling should be verifiably fair to consumers of those services.
The Minister expects that gambling will be fair in the way it is played and offered, that the rules are transparent to players and they therefore know what to expect.
The Commission will ensure that licences are issued only to those who are suitable to offer gambling facilities or work in the industry.
The Commission must ensure that operators provide rules that are fair and clearly understandable. For example, the operator must make plain the probability of losing or winning as well as presenting the terms and conditions attached to any wager, game or gambling facility.
It will be a requirement for operators to make public the results of events and competitions on which commercial, charitable and social gambling takes place.
The Commission will ensure that the licences it issues, together with the licence conditions it imposes and the codes of practice it publishes, set appropriate standards of conduct for licence holders, appropriate technical standards for gaming machines and other equipment used in connection with any licensed activity.
In the event of non-compliance, the Commission will ensure that conditions are imposed that deter future non-compliance on the part of the licence holder.
Gambling should always be conducted responsibly and with safeguards necessary to protect children and vulnerable people
The Commission will establish and maintain a social responsibility fund dedicated to education, research and promotion of responsible gambling and enable such initiatives for counselling of those harmed by excessive gambling.
The fund will be resourced by the gambling industry primarily by agreed voluntary donation. However, should a shortfall in funding arise the Minister expects the Commission to exercise powers under the draft Law to impose a levy on the industry to ensure the fund is adequately resourced.
The Commission will work with other bodies such as Gamcare and the Gordon Moody Association to build and maintain knowledge about problem gambling and the measures that may be taken to reduce any prevalence of problem gambling.
The Commission will issue guidance to ensure that gambling premises are presented in such a way that access by children and young persons continues to be prevented.
The Commission will require persons operating remote gambling to ensure that there are adequate age verification measures in place to prevent children and young persons gambling on their sites.
With regard to ‘vulnerable persons’ the Commission considers that this group will include:
- people who gamble more than they want to
- people who gamble beyond their means; and/or
- people who may not be able to make informed or balanced decisions about gambling, for example because of mental health problems, learning disability, or substance misuse relating to alcohol or drugs.
Although the Commission’s role is not intended to extend to treatment or care of those who have gambling problems, the Commission will follow developments in work of that kind.
The Commission will issue codes that include social responsibility requirements, setting out what practical measures operators must take in relation to social responsibility. This will build upon the shadow Commission’s work to date on self exclusion policies and problem recognition papers.
The Commission will identify good practice in protecting vulnerable people from being harmed by gambling and where appropriate place requirements on operators to put particular measures in place and to monitor their compliance. Compliance will be kept regularly under review, with activity by the Commission targeted at the greatest risks to the licensing principles. In the event of non-compliance, conditions may be imposed on the licence holder with the intention of deterring future non-compliance.
DRAFT GAMBLING COMMISSION (JERSEY) LAW 200- (P.139/2009): AMENDMENT
Lodged au Greffe on 6th October 2009 by the Deputy of St. Martin
COMMENT OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Minister for Economic Development has recently adopted a statement of policy for regulation that he expects the new Commission, if sanctioned by the States, to follow. I attach the CVs of the current shadow Commissioners which demonstrates their quality and experience and which should prove beneficial to Members. One of the principles of the policy the Commission will be required to observe is that:
the Commission will ensure that its regulatory approach imposes the minimum burden necessary to promote the licensing principles. The Commission must take into account the regulatory impact on different types and sizes of licence applicant and licence holder and ensure, without compromising key licensing principles, it does not unduly hinder economic progress.
The first proposed amendment put forward by the Deputy of St Martin states that:
‘the Commission must ensure that it carries out its functions in a way that does not give rise to, or maintain, unnecessary burdens’. This statement appears entirely in agreement with the Minister’s stated policy and to that end, the Minister is pleased to accept the first proposed amendment to Article 3.
The second proposed amendment, to Article 5, seeks to give the Minister powers to make directions to determine the manner in which gross win is to be calculated. This was not included in the draft law because there is already a definition of gross win that has been developed and accepted between the industry and the income tax department as the method of determining GST. It seems unlikely that a future Minister would seek to change this definition, but if the States wishes to accept the amendment then the Minister would support it.
The third proposed amendment, to Article 6, inserts a mandatory Order making role on the Minister to decide on the specific manner in which the Commission should consult regarding a Code of Practice. This seems unnecessary, as one of the benefits of introducing a new independent regulator is to release them and the industry from the slow shackles of government bureaucracy. The Commission will have to consult with its industry whether an Order is made or not and it makes little sense for the Minister to have this role. Notwithstanding, the Minister is content to accept this amendment. The second part of this proposed amendment also relates to burdens and unnecessary inconsistencies and as noted above, this is now part of Ministerial policy and so should be adopted.
Finally, Deputy Hill seeks to have reference to this role in every annual report submitted by the Commission to the States. This seems unnecessary. The inclusion of a statement regarding the consideration of codes or standards adopted in other jurisdictions and how they are relevant to Jersey is not something that should be included in an Annual Report to the States. Rather, it should be reported by the Commission as part of the determination process for each code and published on its website or on a case by case basis. While supportive of the principle of open decision making, this part of the proposed amendment will not add meaningful information to the Annual Report and should be rejected.
The proposed amendments to Article 11 refer to the Social Responsibility Levy which is a key element of the proposed draft Law. The need for a Fund stems from the requirement for the industry to meet the social debt that can be caused by gambling. Although the overwhelming majority of people gamble responsibly, there are a small, but nevertheless important minority who get into difficulties and these individuals need to be recognised and helped. The amendment would require the Minister to specify the manner in which the Commission would consult on the matter of raising a levy and also provide first for a voluntary route by donation. This is actually already provided for in Article 10(2)(c). Ensuring that the Minister makes an Order to do what the Commission would have to do in any event seems unnecessary and the draft Law does make provision for donations. To that extent this part of the amendment is not required.
Proposed amendment ‘B’ to Article 11 is welcome and will correct an error in the drafting instructions that substituted turnover for ‘gross win’. Likewise, after discussion with the Deputy for St Martin and the commercial operators, an amendment to the maximum charge of the levy to 1% of gross win is also acceptable.
The proposed amendments to Schedule 1 are not, however, so clear cut and Members are free to make up their own minds regarding a debate on States appointments. The proposed amendments to paragraph 2(3) and paragraph 5(3) relate to States appointments being held in camera. Clearly people should be open to scrutiny if they seek public office, but we must also be aware that there could be instances where worthy men and women are put off from coming forward for fear that their reputations can be publicly impugned without a right of reply. The principle that such debates are held in camera is a well established one and to that end, the Minister sees no reason to deviate from it and so will oppose these amendments.
With regard to the length of time that a Commissioner can be absent without permission, it is worth recognising that they would not be remunerated during such a period of absence. The period of six months was included as a suitable period to cover medical emergencies and other unforeseen events where a Commissioner may not, through no fault of their own, be able to communicate with the Chair of the Board. Reducing this period to two months naturally reduces the period during which a Commissioner may be absent but should not, in other than extreme cases, have a practical effect. For that reason the Minister is prepared to accept the amendment.
Turning to the proposal to delete paragraph 4(3)(f), this refers to mandatory retirement at 73 and is in line with other legislation of this sort. On reflection, it is certainly true that many people are capable of giving sterling service after the age of 73 and accordingly the Minister accepts the amendment.
The final proposed amendment of the Deputy of St Martin to Schedule 1 refers to paragraph 6(3)(c). The effect of removing the Chair’s casting vote in the event of a tie between three Commissioners effectively gives a veto to the dissenting voice and removes the leadership of the Chair. This is not an appropriate way of running a board, and is not in keeping with generally accepted principles of corporate governance. The draft Law confers on the Chair a higher degree of leadership and responsibility than that held by ordinary Commissioners and expects him or her to exercise that role to the public good. Removing the Chair’s ability to lead their Board in the event of a tie runs contrary to the principles of their appointment and accordingly the Minister will oppose this amendment.
Commissioners Curriculum Vitae
GRAHAM WHITE, OBE
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
1983 – 2005 - The Gaming Board for Great Britain
Responsibilities
- Chief Regulator responsible for the effectiveness and efficiency of 40 staff. This includes budget control, financial planning, policy, operational deployment based upon intelligence and risk assessment, long term planning, recruitment and promotion.
- Advisor to HM Government and Gaming Board Officials on all matters relating to gaming legislation, inspection and enforcement – including the investigation of applicants.
- Advisor on all cases of revocation and granting of company certificates and individual licenses. Ensuring that action is taken in accordance with current legislation and the Human Rights Act.
- Advisor to licensee and applicant company representatives on matters relating to proposed acquisitions, expansion, management structure and other related issues.
- Inspection of gaming licensed premises and Inspectorate Regional Offices to assess the effectiveness of the Inspectorate and to provide feedback on trends and developments.
- Liaison with police at Chief Officer level and with senior representatives of other agencies and regulatory bodies on enforcement, investigation, intelligence and legal issues.
- Liaison with foreign governments (Regulatory Agency Heads) on matters relating to legislation, investigation, enforcement and the exchange of information. In appropriate cases, carry out investigations on foreign applicants for gaming licenses.
- Co-chair of the Technical Committee of the Gaming Regulators European Forum.
- Member of the Financial Fraud Information Network.
- Member of the Joint Action Group on Organised Crime.
- Visiting lecturer to the Universities of Las Vegas and Salford on gaming legislation. Also lectured in South Africa, USA, Italy, Aruba, Netherlands and Jamaica.
Achievements:
- Instigated a major internal and external review, which enhanced the operational and cost effectiveness of the Inspectorate (‘The Need for Change’). Improvements included the introduction of an intelligence led risk based inspection regime.
- Implemented a major internal review on all gaming legislation for the Gambling Review Body, which resulted in the new Betting and Gaming Act.
- Chaired the joint working group with HM Customs & Excise, which has produced, for example, a multi agency approach to tackling illegal activities.
- Implemented IT strategy for the Inspectorate and regional offices, producing an enhanced communication policy.
- Established an Intelligence database for the Inspectorate, Board and the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS).
- Recruited a team of specialist Inspectors to manage Intelligence and technical functions.
- Introduced multi-agency approach to investigations, incorporating Police, HM Customs & Excise and other regulatory authorities.
- Provided advice on legislation, social responsibility programmes and regulatory controls to Israel, South Africa, Malta, Hungary, Slovenia, Seychelles, Italy, Jamaica, Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey and both Northern and Southern Cyprus.
- Carried out successful gaming license investigations in USA, Canada, Spain, Bahamas and South Africa.
- Established a Gaming Inspector at the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
- Introduced an annual Strategic and Operational Plan for the Inspectorate with objectives for individuals and their personal development plans.
- Introduced an Inspectorate budget control system to ensure that expenditure is spent to the best effect.
- Established Memorandums of Understanding with the Association of Chief Police Officers (England, Scotland and Wales).
- Established a Memorandum of Understanding with the Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency and HM Customs & Excise.
- Introduced Inspections at corporate level for all gaming companies to confirm or deny corporate governance and the integrity of management and operational systems.
- Devised and introduced an inspection regime to ascertain if licensees were correctly operating a social responsibility programme
1966 – 1983 - Commissioned Officer, Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment, Queen’s Regiment, Royal Military Police, and Sultan of Muscat Armed Forces.
AWARDS
- Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to The Gaming Board for Great Britain.
- General Service Medal, Ulster.
- Oman Defence Medal.
- Commander in Chief, US Forces West Germany Commendation.
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
- Clerk of the Course Tweseldown Racecourse 1973-75
- Deputy Chairman Gordon Moody Association (treatment centres for gambling addiction).
- Chairman Community Action Responsible Gambling (CARG) London, Swansea, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northampton.
- Chairman of Whittlesford War Memorial Committee.
PETER SCOTT CRUICKSHANK
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
1988 – 2004 - LE SABLON LTD
- Position: Director
- Duties: Investments
1984 – 2001 - CHANNEL ISLANDS MONEY BROKERS LTD
- Position: Chairman / Managing Director
- Duties: Company management
1992 – date - PASADAM LTD
- Position: Director
- Duties: Investments & administration
1990 – 1992 - STERLING BROKERS ASSOCIATION - LONDON
- Position: Secretary
- Duties: Admin & liaison with Bank of England Money Markets Division.
1984 – 2001 - C I MONEY BROKERS JERSEY & GUERNSEY
- Position: Chief dealer, Director of Treasury, Managing Director
- Duties: Dealing room treasury operations, staff administration, recruitment and training, telecommunications/Reuters, advertising, client management, correspondent office liaison, advertising, money market regulatory affairs, Sterling Brokers Assoc & Bank of England meetings, company banking and investments.
1979 – 1984 - KIRKLAND WHITTAKER (CI) LTD - JERSEY
- Position: Chief Dealer & Dealing Room Manager.
- Duties: Dealing room treasury operations, client & correspondent office liaison & marketing, staff administration, recruitment and training.
1972 – 1979 - KIRKLAND WHITTAKER (CI) LTD - JERSEY
- Position: Sterling & Currency Dealer
- Duties: Money market trading, marketing & client & correspondent office liaison
1970 – 1972 - NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK LTD - JERSEY
- Position: Correspondence & Deposits Clerk
- Duties: As above.
1969 – 1970 - WESTMINSTER BANK LTD - JERSEY
- Position: Bank Cashier
- Duties: As above.
1968 – 1969 - WESTMINSTER BANK LTD - JERSEY
- Position: Junior - Cheque processing department.
- Duties: As above.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- In 1984, formed the first independent Jersey and Guernsey money broking companies which became the largest and most successful money broking group in the Channel Islands.
COMMUNITY INTEREST
1977 – Date
- Member of the Public Lotteries Board. Currently Deputy Chairman.
Current
- Accredited Jersey Heritage guide for offshore towers.
JEREMY ARNOLD
Jeremy retired in 1994 at age 56 and has since lived full-time in Jersey. His career began in 1957 as an articled clerk with an old firm of Chartered Accountants in the City. The company was taken over by Touche, Ross shortly before he qualified in 1962. Jeremy worked for Touche, Ross in Sydney and San Francisco before joining Arthur Andersen in London in 1966. He opened the Firm’s Birmingham Office in 1971. He became a partner in 1974 and transferred to the Toronto Office in 1976 where he ran the audit practice for 13 years. In 1989, he moved back to Europe to work in the Brussels Office until his retirement in 1994. During his time in Belgium, he was the liaison partner for training in Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa.
Jeremy’s clients have been in a wide variety of industries such as stock broking, banking, insurance, manufacturing, consumer products, film and music production, advertising, real estate and retailing. Most of these were parts of very large multi-national companies. His other work experience within the Firm has been in practice management, training and quality control. The last has involved extensive practice reviews of offices in Australia, Malaysia, Switzerland, Kuwait, Egypt, Thailand, USA and England.
Since retirement, Jeremy has spent his time on projects, which has involved considerable time in the Middle East. He also has a number of non-executive directorships.
DRAFT GAMBLING (GAMING AND LOTTERIES) (AMENDMENT No. 15) (JERSEY) REGULATIONS 200- (P.140/2009): AMENDMENT
Lodged au Greffe on 6th October 2009 by the Deputy of St. Martin
COMMENT OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Minister for Economic Development has recently adopted a statement of policy for regulation that he expects the new Commission, if sanctioned by the States, to follow. One of the principles of that policy is that:
the Commission will ensure that its regulatory approach imposes the minimum burden necessary to promote the licensing principles. The Commission must take into account the regulatory impact on different types and sizes of licence applicant and licence holder and ensure, without compromising key licensing principles, it does not unduly hinder economic progress.
The first proposed amendment put forward by the Deputy of St Martin to Article 3 repeats that put forward for the Gambling Commission (Jersey) Law and states that the Minister must ‘avoid imposing or maintaining unnecessary burdens on persons providing or operating gaming machines’. While the Minister’s stated policy is in agreement with this statement, it is important to add that the level of regulation required will be directly proportional to assuring that these machines meet the highest standards of regulation relevant to Jersey, both to protect the playing public and to ensure the good standing of the Island.
The proposed requirement for consultation is a positive one and the Minister supports it, most notably because it will allow consultation not only with the operators, but also social, religious and other bodies who will be able to contribute their experience as required.
The third proposed amendment to Article 3, states that the Minister should ’particularly take account of any burden that may be caused by any unnecessary inconsistency between a provision of an approved code and any similar provision in any other jurisdiction in which providers of gambling services also operate’. This seems superfluous insofar as the Minister would not be expected to inflict anything unnecessary on an operator and from that perspective is entirely supportable. What it does not and cannot mean, however, is any suggestion that the Minister will countenance levels of regulation that do not meet the high standards that will be required in Jersey simply because they are not adopted elsewhere. So long as that is accepted within the Minister’s policy statement then the amendment should be supported.
The only area where the Minister is forced to oppose the Deputy of St Martin is with regard to the proposal to amend Article 10 so that the fee to operate one of these machines is reduced to £2,630. The Minister has invested significant effort ensuring that the regulatory standards to be applied to the operation of these machines are of the highest quality and has accordingly agreed with the industry that they will provide all information from their monitoring systems to him for analysis. The increase in fee from £2,000 for the old-style machine to £4,000 for this new type of machine reflects this higher regulatory burden and has been agreed with the majority of the industry. To seek to reduce a fee that has been reached by negotiation between both parties seems entirely wrong and will perpetuate the current inconsistencies between the costs of regulation and the setting of fees. It is clearly in the public interest that this gap is narrowed and the setting of a fee at £4,000 will go a long way is addressing this imbalance. For this reason the Minister will oppose this amendment.
DRAFT GAMBLING (2010 FEES) (JERSEY) REGULATIONS 200- (P.141/2009): AMENDMENT
Lodged au Greffe on 6th October 2009 by the Deputy of St. Martin
COMMENT OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The decision of the Deputy of St Martin to bring this set of amendments goes against the public interest in a number of ways. The Minister has noted that the industry has been protected from facing the full cost of its regulation for a number of years through benign neglect, but can no longer be allowed such an extravagance. In line with the States ‘user pays’ principles, the Minister has accordingly agreed a level of fee increases that are above RPI, but which vitally do not inflict a full cost-recovery measure in one year. The industry has argued and the Minister has agreed that a stepped approach is fairer and will allow the industry flexibility to adjust the impact on its costs.
The increases proposed in P141 are high, but they are below the full cost incurred and have been a part of Ministerial policy and public consultation that has taken place over the past two years. These amendments would restrict increases to the level commensurate with the RPI and in so doing keep the current public subsidy for gambling regulation artificially high. Such a measure at a time of increasing pressure on public finances is not defensible and accordingly the Minister opposes these amendments.
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