William Hill: Breaches of Player Protection

Debate between Lord Butler of Brockwell and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Wednesday 29th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

We have ensured that people who have excluded themselves from gambling are protected. Individuals are rightly taking action, and we want to ensure that they can do so. Individuals can draw their cases to the attention of the Gambling Commission, in addition to its work in monitoring the sector.

[Lord Butler of Brockwell (CB)]

My Lords, does not the very small proportion that monetary fines constitute of gambling companies’ profits indicate that they are not working? Should the Gambling Commission not take more effective powers, which are already within its remit?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The fines and penalties imposed by the commission are increasing. In the 2016-17 financial year, it issued penalties of just £1.7 million. As I said a moment ago, since the start of 2022 operators have paid more than £76 million. The financial penalties are increasing, and the commission has revoked 14 operator licences and 66 personal licences since 2016. There are a range of sanctions which it can and does undertake.

Broadband: Price

Debate between Lord Butler of Brockwell and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Thursday 2nd February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

In July last year, the previous Secretary of State also spoke to mobile and broadband suppliers and secured a list of commitments from them, including a commitment to support their customers who may be struggling with the cost of living and to treat them with compassion and understanding. All providers committed to support customers who are struggling with their bills, offering them ways to keep connected, including allowing them to move to cheaper packages without charge or penalty, or agreeing manageable payment plans.

[Lord Butler of Brockwell (CB)]

To revert to a question asked previously by a noble Lord, is this not a matter that should be referred to the Competition and Markets Authority?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

At the moment we are pleased to have seen the commitments made by the companies following their meetings with the Secretary of State and her predecessor. We will keep it under review.

Gambling: Loot Boxes

Debate between Lord Butler of Brockwell and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Thursday 19th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, I cannot anticipate the much-anticipated White Paper, but we have certainly looked at the potential for harm to children and other vulnerable people through gambling. We looked at the issue of loot boxes separately because it is a technical and distinct area. We are very glad to have had 30,000 responses to our call for evidence. These have been considered alongside 50 submissions from academics and businesses and an independent evidence assessment of academic literature. So, we are looking at this in the detail that it deserves.

[Lord Butler of Brockwell (CB)]

My Lords, bearing in mind that loot boxes may be a first step in children developing a gambling addiction in later life, how can the Government justify an 18-month delay before responding to the consultation, which was completed in November 2020?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, as I outlined, this is a technical area and we have had a lot of submissions to look at, including academic literature on this changing and emerging area. But this has not stopped us taking action in the meantime: we have banned gambling on credit cards, tightened restrictions on VIP schemes and updated the gambling advertising codes to ban adverts that have a strong appeal to children—for example, those featuring sportsmen such as Premiership footballers.

Gambling Act 2005

Debate between Lord Butler of Brockwell and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Wednesday 9th February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The noble Baroness makes an important point. We have seen already, through the evidence gathered by Public Health England, the way that there are differential impacts on certain groups of people, whether by geography, sex or age. We want to improve the evidence base in the research so that we can ensure our policies are based on good and concrete evidence. That is part of the review of the Act that we are undertaking.

[Lord Butler of Brockwell (CB)]

My Lords, in the speech to the GambleAware conference to which the Minister referred, the Gambling Minister recognised that affordability checks were key to reducing gambling harm. Are the Government aware of the research by the Social Market Foundation showing that £100 spent per month was the right threshold above which gambling operators should be obliged to make affordability checks?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

That research by the Social Market Foundation was, I know, noted in the letter sent to my honourable friend the Gambling Minister. We see a clear role for considering an individual’s financial circumstances to help stop devastating losses, but to be workable and to prevent harm, checks need to be proportionate and done in a way that is acceptable to customers, too. We continue to work with the Gambling Commission on this issue in the run-up to our White Paper.