Gambling
Sir: As your readers may know, a Royal Commission on Gambling has been established, under Lord Rothschild's chairmanship, to inquire into the existing law and practice relating to betting, gaming, lotteries and prize competition.
The Royal Commission is now able to start work and would welcome written evidence from anyone with an interest in, or views on, this subject. The terms of reference of the Commission are 'to inquire into the existing law, and practice thereunder, relating to betting, gaming, lotteries and prize competitions with particular reference to: (a) The adequacy of the restrictions imposed on the provision of facilities for the different forms of gambling, the consistency of the principles applied, and whether there is need for greater uniformity of control ; (b) the practices and financial structure of the gambling industry and the interrelation of their gambling interests with other interests; (c) the publication of information about gambling activities, the methods of selecting winners or fixing odds, and the appropriation of receipts; (d) the contribution made from the proceedings of gambling towards the support of other activities (including sport), the means by which this might be enhanced, and the conditions to be imposed: and to make recommendations'.
It would be of considerable assistance to the Commission if those offering written evidence, which should if possible be submitted by the end of June, would include precise recommendations for action (if some action is thought necessary) together with the reasons for them.
The Government has asked the Royal Commission to submit an early interim report on the 'possibilities of a levy on football pools or otherwise as a means of providing financial assistance to sport.'
The Commission's terms of reference are not of course confined to the possibility of a levy on football pools alone or to helping football alone, and it is for the Commission to decide how wide its interim report should go. The Commission will begin by concentrating on its interim inquiry and it would welcome any evidence bearing on this by mid-May.
Quentin Thomas, Secretary Royal Commission on Gambling, Commission House, 20 Grosvenor Hill, London W1
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