Bingo regulation: join the debate on current challenges and future directions

Kent Law School’s £0.5m Bingo Project is hosting a public debate on Bingo Regulation on Friday 9 October in London.

The debate, examining both current challenges and future directions, is open to all and offers a chance for the Bingo Project team to present their preliminary findings from their UK research.

Project Leader Dr Kate Bedford said: ‘While this may seem a somewhat niche topic (if you do not play bingo yourself that is), bingo regulation sheds light on issues such as local versus central government control of consumption; the interaction between licensing law, class, and gender; the private versus public status of club and associational life; the control of entertainment and speculation; the regulation of volunteering; and the role of transnational and multilateral bodies, states, local governments, employers, and workers in responsible gambling initiatives. So if any of those topics appeal to you, register (it is free) and come along.

‘There will also be presentations from the Gambling Commission, and the trade association representing the commercial bingo industry in the UK. Registered attendees include academics (from a range of disciplines), local government regulators, lawyers, representatives of working men’s clubs, and representatives from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bingo, and on Betting.’

The debate will be held at the Friends Meeting House in London (opposite Euston Station) from 3pm to 5pm. More details are available on the Bingo Project website where you can also register your attendance.

The Bingo Project is a three year research initiative, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, which involves research into how bingo is regulated in England, Wales, Canada, Brazil, and online in the European Union.

Working with Dr Bedford (Reader in Law) on the project, are Dr Oscar Alvarez-Macotela (Research Associate), Professor Toni Williams (Professor of Law), Dr Donal Casey (Lecturer in European Law) and Maria Luiza Kurban Jobim (Research Assistant), all from Kent Law School.

Next year, the Bingo Project will be hosting an academic conference examining socio-legal approaches to gambling regulation, in collaboration with the Social Critiques of Law (SoCriL) research group. Confirmed keynote speakers (from a range of disciplines) will address topics of governance, regulation, speculation, consumption, gender, class, indigeneity, race, political economy, and comparative law. The Bingo Project team will also present detailed case studies together with their final report. The conference will take place on 23/24 June 206 on the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus. A call for papers will be issued in the next few weeks.

Image credit: Redundant Bingo Balls, CC BY 2.0, Greg Clarke