The U.K. Gambling Commission said Monday that it has launched its
new conditions under which licenses are granted to gambling operators
and staff, together with new codes of practice.
The Commission said it will have significant new legal powers to monitor
the industry and to prosecute illegal gambling. It will also advise
central and local government on issues related to gambling.
Set up in October 2005, the Commission's remit is to regulate the
gambling industry in the public interest. The new regulations will
be summed up in communications on the licence conditions and codes
for the industry, the regulator said.
Peter Dean, the Commission's chairman. "Britain's gambling
laws are undergoing wholesale reform and from September next year
all operators must be licensed by the Gambling Commission".
"The conditions and codes set out the rules which operators
must observe to meet our three licensing objectives of keeping crime
out of gambling, ensuring that gambling is fair and open, and protecting
children and other vulnerable people", Dean said.
The Commission has powers to criminally prosecute operators who fail
to maintain standards and can impose unlimited fines on operators
that breach their licence conditions.