Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will develop a national definition of harmful gambling advertising.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We recognised that more can be done to raise standards in gambling advertising and we have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards in this area to ensure that the levels of gambling advertising does not exacerbate harm and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of findings published on 18 March by the City of York Council, Next Generation York: the health of adolescents in our city, particularly that 16 per cent of young people had gambled, and of those 25 per cent took money to gamble without permission, and 14 per cent had conflicts with family or friends over gambling.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working with all stakeholders in order to ensure there are robust protections in place to protect those at risk of gambling related harm, particularly children and young people.
The Government uses a wide range of sources to inform our understanding of children and young people’s gambling behaviour and harm in Great Britain, such as the 2024 Young People in Gambling Report. The department has noted the findings of the Next Generation York report from the City of York Council.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the proposal to deliver a gambling ombudsman, as set out in the White Paper High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age, published 27 April 2023.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We continue to explore options for improving Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), including the establishment of a gambling ombudsman. We are working closely with all stakeholders in the sector to deliver on this, including the BGC, the Gambling Commission, existing ADR providers and the Ombudsman Association. Further steps will be outlined in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the proposed staking limit of £5 for online slots sooner than the outlined five-year period.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As set out in the legislation, the online slots stake limits regulation must be reviewed within five years. We are able to review the stake limits at any time if there is evidence to do so.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the gambling industry’s spending on advertising, sponsorship and marketing, including online forms of advertising and marketing such as content marketing.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to GambleAware’s research in 2017, the total advertising and marketing spend by gambling companies totalled £1.5 billion, of which:
£747 million was spent on online advertising and direct marketing
£234 million on TV advertising
£149 million on social media advertising
£60 million on sponsorship
£301 million on advertising through market affiliates
£70 million on other offline advertising
There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. Gambling adverts cannot be targeted at children and cannot be of ‘strong appeal’ to children, for example they cannot feature Premier League footballers and celebrities popular with children.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the gambling industry’s self-regulation practices in relation to gambling advertising, sponsorship, and marketing.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to GambleAware’s research in 2017, the total advertising and marketing spend by gambling companies totalled £1.5 billion, of which:
£747 million was spent on online advertising and direct marketing
£234 million on TV advertising
£149 million on social media advertising
£60 million on sponsorship
£301 million on advertising through market affiliates
£70 million on other offline advertising
There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. Gambling adverts cannot be targeted at children and cannot be of ‘strong appeal’ to children, for example they cannot feature Premier League footballers and celebrities popular with children.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what specific consideration they have given to the impact of gambling advertising, sponsorship, and marketing on children and young people.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to GambleAware’s research in 2017, the total advertising and marketing spend by gambling companies totalled £1.5 billion, of which:
£747 million was spent on online advertising and direct marketing
£234 million on TV advertising
£149 million on social media advertising
£60 million on sponsorship
£301 million on advertising through market affiliates
£70 million on other offline advertising
There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. Gambling adverts cannot be targeted at children and cannot be of ‘strong appeal’ to children, for example they cannot feature Premier League footballers and celebrities popular with children.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research by Cambridge University and Fudan University showing a link between social isolation and the increased risk of heart disease, stroke and infections; and what steps they intend to take to address loneliness in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises that chronic loneliness is linked to negative health outcomes, and welcomes further research in this space, including the new research by Cambridge University and Fudan University. The Government continues to be evidence led in its approach to addressing loneliness.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) leads on the cross-government tackling loneliness programme for England. DCMS’s current work to tackle loneliness includes supporting a range of organisations through the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online platform for professionals working to reduce loneliness; working to improve the evidence base around loneliness; and providing advice through the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign’s advice pages.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the potential benefits of strengthening advertising regulation in relation to children and young people.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK and co-regulates broadcast advertising under contract with Ofcom. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising in their CAP and BCAP Codes. Within these codes, specific rules are set out for advertising to children, along with rules to ensure that adverts for age-restricted products are not targeted towards those under the age of 18.
The Government continues to work with industry through the Online Advertising Taskforce to explore non-legislative measures to improve trust, transparency and accountability in the online advertising ecosystem. The Taskforce has agreed a programme of work focused on tackling illegal advertising and minimising children being served advertising for products and services illegal to sell to them. Six industry-led working groups report to the Taskforce, including an age-assurance working group which specifically looks to improve standards to reduce children’s exposure to advertising for age-restructed products. More details on its work can be found in the Online Advertising Taskforce’s Progress Report 2023 - 2024.
The Government is keen to see industry working together in the first instance but will continue to monitor the regulatory framework to see if further legislation is needed.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to implementing a similar policy for gambling advertising to the recently announced ban on junk food advertising before 9pm.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As I set out in my speech at the GambleAware conference on 4 December, I want to see the gambling industry further raise standards to ensure that levels of gambling advertising does not exacerbate harm. This work will be monitored closely.
There are a range of robust rules in place to ensure that gambling adverts, wherever they appear, are socially responsible with provisions specifically designed to protect children. As part of the UK Advertising Codes, adverts must not be placed in children’s media and advertisers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that under-18s are excluded from their targeted marketing. As the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission requires all licensed operators to abide by the Advertising Codes. As part of the Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising, gambling adverts, with exception of bingo and lotteries, cannot be shown during pre-watershed hours. Gambling operators cannot allow their logos or any other promotional material to appear on any commercial merchandising designed for children, including on children’s replica shirts.
The Government’s steps to restrict the advertising of less healthy food and drink is part of the commitment to tackle the childhood obesity crisis. The Government is also committed to strengthening protections to ensure that people can reduce the risks that can ensue from harmful gambling. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence on the impact of gambling advertising from a wide range of sources in order to ensure there are robust protections in place to protect those at risk.