Scotland - Fixed Odds Betting Terminals and devolution

Following the Scottish referendum the Prime Minister made clear that the pre-referendum commitments made by the leaders of the three main pro-UK parties to deliver substantial further devolution of powers would be honoured.

A paper "Scotland in the United Kingdom: An Enduring Settlement" has now been published which has followed the recommendations of the Smith Commission which was set up to provide a significant and cohesive package of new powers for the Scottish Parliament.

The position in relation to gambling in Scotland has now been considerably reduced in that the over proliferation of betting offices is no longer being sought.  The only area of gambling included in the paper is in relation to Fixed Odds Betting Terminals which is covered at Clause 33.  Clause 33 relates to paragraph 74 of the Smith Commission Agreement which states “The Scottish Parliament will have the power to prevent the proliferation of Fixed-Odd Betting Terminals in Scotland”.

Paragraph 6.7.2 of the paper goes on to say “This clause will devolve legislative competence to the Scottish Parliament and executive competence to the Scottish Ministers to vary the number of FOBTs authorised by a betting premises licence by inserting a specific exemption into B9 of Part 2 of Schedule 5 to the 1998 Act. The exception will permit the variation of the number of FOBTs authorised by virtue of a new betting premises licence, but does not permit variation of the number of such gaming machines authorised by existing betting premises licences.  For this purpose, Scottish Ministers will be given power to make an order (following the affirmative procedure) to vary the number of these FOBTs and will, as a result, have a greater say over how many of these gaming machines may be made available for use in Scotland.”

In a nutshell, clause 33 would allow the Scottish Parliament to create an Order giving licensing authorities the power to restrict the number of gaming machines where the maximum stake is £10 or greater, in granting new applications. However, it will only effect new applications with existing premises continuing to operate in their current manner with the maximum of 4 FOBTs, which is good news for existing operators who will keep their grip on the market.

Going forward, the draft clauses in the command paper will be brought forward as a new Scotland Bill after the general election in May 2015. Due to legislative procedure including the need to go through the House of Lords, it may be years before the Order comes into force.