The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and UKHospitality (UKH) have joined forces to unveil guidance for tackling under-age gambling in pubs.
The two trade bodies have united to work with their members and produce an updated Social Responsibility Charter for Gaming Machines in Pubs.
The Charter incorporates a Code of Practice aimed at promoting collaboration and training to prevent under-age gambling:
Core principles:
- Collaboration across the sector to address under-age gambling
- Supporting staff to ensure they understand and meet their legal responsibilities
- Co-operation with regulatory and enforcement bodies
- Engagement with the Gambling Commission
- Support the work of GambleAware
The Code of Practice provides practical guidance on training to ensure that staff are best placed to tackle under-age gambling where it occurs within pubs. It will be supported by a programme of age-verification testing, instigated by the industry itself, to ensure that pubs are taking practical steps to reduce under-age gambling.
Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association commented:
“The BBPA and our members are committed to keeping the pub a safe and friendly environment for families, so we have taken concerns raised by the Gambling Commission seriously. I am therefore pleased that we have produced collectively an updated charter and code of practice that will help pub companies and independent pubs ensure that there is no under-age gambling in their premises. The code highlights the need for focused staff training and the use of Challenge 21/25 guidelines.
“It is important for pubs to ensure that their gaming machines are not used by those under-age. Not least because failure to do so could result in action being taken by Local Authorities to remove gaming machine entitlements, when they offer both entertainment and much needed additional revenue for overtaxed pubs.”
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said:
“Pubs are, by and large, safe and supervised environments in which to relax. It is increasingly obvious, though, that pubs can and should be doing more to tackle to under-age gambling on their premises.
“Gaming machines are a vital revenue stream in pubs and many customers enjoy gambling responsibly when they go to the pub. There can be no room for under-age gambling, though, and we need to ensure that standards on this issue are as high as they are in every other aspect of pubs.
“I am very pleased that UKH and the BBPA have used their collective wisdom to produce a Charter that will help our members, and the whole pub sector, stamp out under-age play wherever it occurs.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Adam Beazley, BBPA Communications & Campaigns Officer: 020 7627 9155 / 07507 836 708
Tony Sophiclides, UKH Strategic Affairs Director – tsoph@ukhospitality.org.uk / 0207 404 7744
Notes to editors:
The British Beer & Pub Association is the leading body representing Britain’s brewers and pub companies. The Association is more than a century old and was originally founded as the Brewers’ Society in 1904. Our members account for some 90 per cent of beer brewed in Britain today, and own around 20,000 of the nation’s pubs.
UKHospitality is the trade body representing the UK’s hospitality sector, established following a merger approved in February 2018 between the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) and the British Hospitality Association (BHA)
UKHospitality is the authoritative voice for over 700 companies, operating around 65,000 venues in a sector that employs 3.2 million people
The body speaks on behalf of a wide range of leisure and ‘out-of-home’ businesses, from FTSE 100 enterprises to niche groups and independent single-site operators
For the first time, the sector has a single voice bringing together businesses from all aspects of hospitality; coffee shops, hotels, serviced apartments, pubs, restaurants, leisure parks, nightclubs, contract caterers, entertainment, stadia and visitor attractions
Engaging with government, the media and the public, UKHospitality works to develop a robust case on how to unlock the industry’s full potential as the biggest engine for growth in the economy and ensure that the industry’s needs are effectively represented
The sector creates £130bn in economic activity and generates £39bn of tax for the Exchequer, funding vital services
Hospitality represents 10% of UK employment, 6% of businesses and 5% of GDP
Hospitality is the 3rd largest private sector employer in the UK; double the size of financial services and bigger than automotive, pharmaceuticals and aerospace combined
The guidance can be viewed here.