Gambling Act 2005 (Gaming Machines in Bingo Premises) Order 2009

My Lords, I shall not detain your Lordships’ House long. Let me take the orders as they are presented to us. As bingo is currently suffering, one wonders whether having machines in the bingo halls is a straw for them to cling to or a lifeboat. As bingo halls are in structural trouble, I hope that when the Government consider any future increases they will also consider the fact that this is supposed to be a ““soft”” environment. However, I have no fundamental objection. As to the raising of the limit, the only thing that occurs to me is that the limit will presumably have to be increased over time, provided that there is no adverse effect on other bodies. Will we have an order every time, or would it not be sensible to have some system to look at this automatically? It might save a few rushed dinners in both Houses of Parliament if there were some way forward. I hope that the Government can provide us with some of the thinking behind these matters.