Parliamentary traffic jam

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The parliamentary handling of key lottery issues is going to need some skilful manoeuvring, as government departments compete fiercely for precious legislative slots in the coming two sessions. The merger and other good-cause distribution reforms have been slated for 2004-05 since the news of merger first broke in January. Now, some are suggesting that the DCMS wants to bring forward the merger bill to prevent any foot-dragging by the parties involved. It was also expected that other lottery review – licensing, the future of the operator franchise and the regulator – would be included in a major gambling bill in 2003-04. Because the forthcoming session is so overcrowded, the latest word is that the gambling bill may be dropped altogether or severely truncated. This in turn threatens legislation on the regulator and future of the licence. The current regulator, the NLC, is adamant that in order to supervise a competition for the third licence based on new rules, it would need to start the process in 2005, which means passing legislation in 2003-04. Yet the government does not seem in a hurry on this one: so far the expected white paper on the future of the licence has been delayed for six months.

Finally, the confirmation of the London Olympic bid will require a new lottery act to set up the Olympic fund – which all parties agree is urgent, so needs a 2003-04 slot. So this one looks likely to jump the queue and be rushed through in the coming session, to give Camelot the chance to start its Olympics fundraising next year.