Gambling in the UK – A brief history
Gambling has been practised in the UK for centuries.
The history of the regulation of gambling provides
an interesting insight into the place gambling
occupies in the society and economy of the country.
The National Lottery was first introduced in
the 16th century, approved by Queen Elizabeth
I. Even at this initial stage, the power the massive
financial potential of the national lottery was
recognised. The national lottery is, by definition,
a state approved venture. Its purpose is to generate
revenue for the monarchy and the government.
In the UK we have not had a continuous national
lottery since that time. The history of gambling
has gone up and down according to the nations
fortunes at home and abroad. By the time of the
Industrial Revolution in the 19th century gambling
was enjoyed in various forms and was an increasingly
popular (if illegal) leisure time activity. At
this time gambling establishments were outside
the law, and were consequently dangerous places
where anything could happen. There was no legislation
or regulation. In a situation such as this two
things happened: firstly no legitimate money was
made – the government didn’t receive
a penny in revenue: secondly a significant number
of people got themselves into serious trouble
with often violent consequences as a result of
unregulated gambling in establishments necessarily
run by criminals.
The government quickly realised something had
to be done. The Gaming Act of 1845 effectively
banned casinos and gaming establishments in the
UK. In response to this the numbers of what were
commonly known as ‘List Houses’ began
to increase. List houses were the 19th century
version of the present day betting shop. These
small establishments posted the results of horse
races on the walls and acted as the gathering
point for those who wished to place bets on the
races. The ruling classes were greatly concerned
with the actions of the working classes in these
establishments. How dare they throw their hard
earned cash away on a bit of fun! What happened
when all the cash was gone – would the men
then turn to crime to make up their losses?
As the century moves on into Victorian times
the overwhelming worry of the ruling classes was
for the moral health of the nation. Gambling has
always been seen as a deeply immoral and irreligious
act. Their legislation to control gambling had
the predictable effect of driving it back underground
and into the hands of criminals.
In 1906 the Street Betting Act was passed; as
the name implies it made street betting illegal.
The only legal betting activity was to be conducted
at the race track itself. Of course this was impossible
for a generation of working men who had neither
time nor money to attend the races, yet who had
grown used to placing bets on the races as a social
pastime.
As the 20th century progressed the government
moulded gambling legislation in such a way as
to limit and control gambling opportunities whilst
simultaneously drawing revenue from it. In 1926
the great war leader Winston Churchill in his
role as Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced
the first on-course betting tax. However the tax
only applied to legal on-course betting, so in
actual fact it did little to regulate the country’s
gambling habits. 1960 brought the legalisation
of off-course betting with the Betting and Gaming
Act. And by 1968 the government had brought the
previously corrupt casinos under the law with
the Gaming Act of that year. The two main points
of the act were that the demand for gambling should
not be stimulated, i.e. gambling should not be
advertised or encouraged, and that gambling should
be controlled by the government in order to limit
opportunity for corruption and criminal activity.
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