This year's accountability hearings focused on three areas of particular interest: the arrangements for revalidation of doctors, which are to commence on 3 December 2012, and associated matters such as patient involvement and examination of the language competence of doctors; the professional leadership activity undertaken by the GMC in the last year; and the regulation activity undertaken by the GMC, including the establishment of the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service. The Council is performing effectively in its two roles of defining and applying standards for the medical profession and providing a focus of professional leadership. The outcome of the Law Commission's consultation on professional regulation in the health and care sector, which proposed a formal role for the Health Committee in the accountability structures, is still awaited. Specific concerns included that whilst there has been some progress on the amendment of domestic legislation which restricts the language testing of doctors this is no substitute for the revision of the European legislation which presently prohibits language testing of doctors on a national basis. There have also been continued upward trends in complaints against doctors received by the GMC, and the Committee expects to examine in 2013 the outcomes of further research the GMC has commissioned into these trends. The Committee feels that the present 15-month target for the GMC to complete 90% of its fitness to practise cases should be lowered to 12 months. The Committee also welcomes proposed legislation to enable the GMC's investigatory arm to appeal against decisions made by the MPTS where the outcome of a hearing is disputed

Around 80% of online gambling in the UK is conducted with operators which are not licensed here. In December 2012 the Government published a very short draft Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill to require overseas gambling operators to obtain a Gambling Commission licence. The overseas-based remote gambling operators generally opposed the Bill, on the grounds it was unnecessary for consumer protection, might drive consumers to cheaper unlicensed operators and was principally intended to bring overseas operators within the UK's tax regime. Much of the UK-based gambling industry, sports bodies and organisations working to combat problem gambling supported the principle of the Bill. Almost all those who gave oral or written evidence to the Committee raised the issue that the enforcement regime would have to be rigorous in order to provide any of the benefits to consumers. The Committee supports the principle that gambling should be regulated on a ’point of consumption' basis. The Committee also notes the concerns raised about taxation of the online industry. The Government stated that the ability to bring all operators serving UK consumers within the tax net is a consequence, but not the prime motivation, of the draft legislation. The Committee notes in this regard that, in setting a tax rate for remote gambling, the Treasury should bear in mind that too high a rate would be liable to drive customers and companies into the unregulated, black market.

Smith and Monkcom: The Law of Gambling, Fourth Edition provides a detailed and practical explanation of legislation covering casinos, betting shops, bingo halls, amusement arcades, pubs and clubs with gaming machines and lotteries. This important book provides a detailed and practical explanation of the legislation by detailing the purpose of the legislation, how to apply for operating licences, premises licences and personal licences, the conditions attached to licences and enforcement of the law as it relates to gambling. The fourth edition covers the following legislation: The Gambling Commission's guidance All updates to the Gaming Act 2005 Coverage of the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 which requires all operators that transact with, or advertise to, British consumers to obtain an operating licence from the Gambling Commission Case law includes: R (on the application of Hemming (t/a Simply Pleasure Ltd) and others) v Westminster City Council R v Goldstein and Rimmington “Spotting the Ball” Partnership v HMRC HMRC v IFX Investment Company Limited The English Bridge Union Limited v HMRC Greene King (tribunal case) Newham Council v Paddy Power

Problem gambling is a perennial issue frequently reported in the media. This book is a comprehensive and up-to-date resource on problem gambling research. It describes the state of the art of the subject and presents the latest developments such as computer modelling of gambling behaviour and risk profiles of gambling products.

Offering the first empirically driven assessment of the development, marketisation, regulation and use of online gambling organisations and their products, this book explores the relationship between online gambling and crime. It draws upon quantitative and qualitative data, including textual and visual analyses of e-gambling advertising and the records of player-protection and standards organisations, together with a virtual ethnography of online gambling subcultures, to examine the ways in which gambling and crime have been approached in practice by gamers, regulatory agencies and online gambling organisations. Building upon contemporary criminological theory, it develops an understanding of online gambling as an arena in which risks and rewards are carefully constructed and through which players navigate, employing their own agency to engage with the very real possibility of victimisation. With attention to the manner in which online gambling can be a source of criminal activity, not only on the part of players, but also criminal entrepreneurs and legitimate gambling businesses, Online Gambling and Crime discusses developments in criminal law and regulatory frameworks, evaluating past and present policy on online gambling. A rich examination of the prevalence, incidence and experience of a range of criminal activities linked to gambling on the Internet, this book will appeal to scholars and policy makers in the fields of sociology and criminology, law, the study of culture and subculture, risk, health studies and social policy.