Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent loot boxes from appearing in video games designed for children.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This Government recognises that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and vulnerable people. This is why there are robust rules on content, tone and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience, including video games. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. Compliance with these rules is required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.

The Department has not had any recent conversations with Apple regarding gambling advertising. 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.

We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections, including making the purchase of loot boxes unavailable to children unless enabled by a parent or guardian. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of gambling advertising on children and young people.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This Government recognises that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and vulnerable people. This is why there are robust rules on content, tone and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience, including video games. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. Compliance with these rules is required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.

The Department has not had any recent conversations with Apple regarding gambling advertising. 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.

We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections, including making the purchase of loot boxes unavailable to children unless enabled by a parent or guardian. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are conducting an assessment of the impact of gambling advertising independent from the gambling industry.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This Government has set the gambling industry the task of further raising standards to ensure gambling advertising is appropriate, responsible, and does not exacerbate harm. The Betting and Gaming Council has commissioned an advertising report which will be published in due course. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources to inform next steps in this space. We are also working with all key stakeholders in order to ensure effective measures are in place to protect those at risk.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had or plan to have with Apple regarding measures to prevent gambling advertisements in video game applications aimed at children and young people.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This Government recognises that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and vulnerable people. This is why there are robust rules on content, tone and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience, including video games. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. Compliance with these rules is required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.

The Department has not had any recent conversations with Apple regarding gambling advertising. 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.

We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections, including making the purchase of loot boxes unavailable to children unless enabled by a parent or guardian. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent gambling advertisements in video games designed for children and young people.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This Government recognises that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and vulnerable people. This is why there are robust rules on content, tone and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience, including video games. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. Compliance with these rules is required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.

The Department has not had any recent conversations with Apple regarding gambling advertising. 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.

We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections, including making the purchase of loot boxes unavailable to children unless enabled by a parent or guardian. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the appropriateness of gambling-related content on the online programming platform Scratch which is used by children in schools.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The department does not support or mandate individual products. Schools should follow the statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’, supported by the department’s filtering and monitoring standards. Schools should monitor pupils’ use of devices whilst in school.

The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that young people should be taught the risks of online gambling and how to seek help if they have concerns. The computing curriculum supports pupils to make informed decisions whilst online or using other technologies.

The department-funded National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) provides training and resources to improve computing provision, including support for teaching programming concepts through languages such as Scratch.

The NCCE is reviewing all teacher resources that include Scratch content. Guidance for keeping children safe when using Scratch will be included in all relevant content by June 2025. NCCE materials do not use gambling as a programming exercise for pupils. None of the NCCE’s lessons or courses recommend pupils use the search function or engage with other people's content on Scratch. Teachers are advised to use the offline version of the platform to prevent pupils from searching ready-made code.

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