ABSTRACT
The British casino industry remained remarkably unaltered in its size, image and operation well into the 1990s. In fact, what little opportunity had been offered, the industry in the way of reform by the Rothschild Commission had been stifled at birth by the Gaming Board. The British casino industry suddenly discovered that they had friends in high places to which the concept of social responsibility that had underpinned gambling regulation since the 1968 Act seemed of little importance. The Labour government had published its reaction to the Budd Report in ‘A Safe Bet for Success-modernising Britain’s gambling laws’. The Gambling Bill also exposed undeniable lobbying influence on behalf of the gaming industry. The 2005 Gambling Bill came into force in September 2007 as the Gambling Act 2005. The political manoeuvring surrounding the Bill’s passage into law have drawn attention away to some extent from the liberalisation contained within the Bill.
