The UK government will not allow the ‘Wales Bill’ to be amended in order to add new gambling legislations for the national assembly.
On Monday Labour and Plaid Cymru attempted to add ‘final hour’ provisions to the bill, seeking to give the Welsh assembly the right to restrict and regulate gambling machines on betting shop premises.
Late in the game as the ‘Wales Bill’ reached Commons, UK government MPs were adamant that the bill should not be redrawn with new provisions which could hinder its progress.
Furthermore, Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns pointed that Welsh gambling regulations had not been specified in the cross-party Silk Commission assessing the ‘devolution settlement of Wales’.
“Now, betting, gaming and lotteries are not devolved to the Assembly and will be reserved subjects under the Bill. The Silk Commission made no representations on the devolution of these and so the subject was not considered by the St David’s Day process, the thread of thinking that came from the Silk Commission.” Cairns commented.
Although new gambling legislations will not be attached to the Wales Bill as its attempts to reach the House of Lords, Labour and Plaid Cymru officials stated that the subject matter would likely be reviewed following the bills future implementation.
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