Second hand rose
COMMENT
Industry of show-offs
30
ESSENTIAL GUIDE
Second hand rose
12
June 14 - June 20 , 2013 • No . 2320 • www . coinslot . co . uk
n alternative view
safeguard the future of many thousands of valued community pubs .
“ All members are concerned about increased bureaucracy and expressed the fear that the appointment of a statutory adjudicator could cause unnecessary additional financial burdens , red tape and promotion of the quango culture . Some members , however , believe that a statutory regulator will be necessary in order to address the issues which are referred to above , while others feel that a voluntary system can be made to work .”
all the boxes
BACTA CHIEF WARNS OF PRE-JUDGING CONSULTATION RESULT BACTA believes that the structure of the consultation might result in a failure to address detailed practical issues because the focus is upon the threshold question of whether or not reform is necessary or desirable . The consultation document attempts to deal with the supplementary issue of the detail of any statutory code . Leslie Macleod-Miller stated : “ There is a strong argument that this attempts to pre-judge the result of the consultation and there is a danger that stakeholders will not engage with the detail until there is a clear decision on the primary question of whether or not a code is to be introduced . We therefore have submitted that the fundamental question of whether or not a statutory code is introduced is first determined before there can be an effective consultation on the substantive issue of the content of any code . We have therefore encouraged our members to make individual responses , providing evidence for their perspective regarding the merits of government proposals .”
coin ’ s John Stergides , UDC ’ s Derek Horwood and a whole host of other industry stalwarts . While it ’ s easy to have a smile on one ’ s face in the sunshine , the mood was defiantly upbeat , with each and every attendee grasping the opportunity to showcase - or see up close - some of the best products currently available in UK coin-op . Only time will tell how many deals will be finalised , but there was enough talk of ‘ the right quality of visitors ’ from several circles to point towards a show that , once again , had hit the mark for all concerned .
BACTA responds to Pubs Consultation
CONSULTATION
Trade body BACTA has responded to the government ’ s Pub Companies and Tenants consultation with regard to Consumer and Competition Policy .
L eslie Macleod-Miller , chief executive of BACTA , has written to the Department for Business , Innovation and Skills in response to the government ’ s Pub Companies and Tenants consultation .
In the letter , Macleod-Miller states :“ We refer to the consultation and attach our response to the consultation questions .
“ BACTA is responding to the consultation by making general comments concerning the consultation , but wishes to note that there is no uniform view regarding responses to the consultation questions from an industry perspective .
“ Some members believe that the current arrangements regarding the “ machine tie ” provide substantial benefits to the tenant to government and the exchequer and to regulatory and licensing authorities including the Gambling Commission because they argue the following :
• In order for a machine supplier to become approved the Pub Companies establish through a thorough and professional tender process the legal and compliant status of suppliers . In this way a tenant has the confidence that by selecting a supplier from an approved list that the supplier is a ‘ fit and proper ’ company to deal with , has the requisite gambling licences , is run by ‘ approved and licensed ’ executives and ensuring the three main principles of the 2005 Gambling Act are upheld .
• Removal of the machine tie could open up the pub market to ‘ rogue ’ and ‘ illegal ’ operators who could cut corners by , for example ,
operating without the required licences , supplying dangerous and poorly maintained equipment with illegal software or operating machines outside of stake and prize controls .
• The standards of performance which are required under the current contractual arrangements ensure that all tenants receive the same level of service and operational support , including in relation to security to protect machines which would no longer
be guaranteed without the machine tie . Removal of the machine tie and associated central management of standards would result in a serious decline in new machine purchases .
• Removal of the machine tie would encourage illegal operators which would distort the market and result in significant job losses , and impact revenue to the Exchequer collected through Corporation Tax , Machine Games Duty and VAT .