The hon. Gentleman raises a good point. We are dealing with a specific problem, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley said, the driver is clearly the Treasury which sees an issue it needs to deal with to raise money. That does not mean, however, that no other aspects of the whole industry need considering and modernising. When the hon. Gentleman spoke earlier he mentioned the Daily Mail test, and I suspect all of us in politics get a little wary when talking about the gambling and casino industries and all those other industries. In reality, however, if the Government cannot amend the Bill, there is a good argument for introducing, certainly early in the next Parliament, another Bill to cover the broader gambling and casino industry, to make it a little more responsive to modern demand.
I was interested in comments by the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme about how bet365 had provided regeneration for Stoke. We should not underestimate the fact that the gambling industry is a factor in regeneration. It certainly was in Atlantic City, and one needs only to look at what is happening in the United States to see that many local governments and other
areas have deliberately attracted and promoted that industry because it can help local areas. A Government who want certain areas of our country to prosper and regenerate could do a lot worse than looking at the gambling industry as a potential source of regeneration for some areas that are struggling in the modern world. I broadly support the Bill. I am a little disappointed with its scope because there is unfinished business in the broader gambling industry, but I look forward to the passage of the Bill. I hope that the clever people— the bright people with towels round their heads in the Treasury—will find a good way of generating money to help the public services that we all want.
2.58 pm