Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of financial risk assessments on the number of consumers using unlicensed gambling operators.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to supporting the implementation of key measures in the 2023 Gambling White Paper, including the introduction of Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) for online gambling.

The Gambling Commission’s pilot demonstrated that Financial Risk Assessments can be undertaken without friction in 97% of cases. Given that less than 3% of accounts will meet the threshold for assessment, that means around 99.9% of all active accounts will either have no assessment or these checks will happen without friction.

The Government recognises that the threat of movement to the illegal market does exist, but this does not mean that we should avoid appropriate controls on licensed operators. The illegal market is best tackled by improving player safety and managing risk.

We are already taking wider action to tackle the illegal market. Key measures include an additional £26 million of funding over three years for the Gambling Commission to enable them to increase their activity to tackle the illegal market; a consultation on banning physical unlicensed gambling sponsorship and advertising; and the establishment of the Illegal Gambling Taskforce, which will consider what more can be done to tackle the threats posed by the illegal market.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that financial risk assessments in the licensed gambling sector are frictionless for consumers.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to supporting the implementation of key measures in the 2023 Gambling White Paper, including the introduction of Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) for online gambling.

The Gambling Commission’s pilot demonstrated that Financial Risk Assessments can be undertaken without friction in 97% of cases. Given that less than 3% of accounts will meet the threshold for assessment, that means around 99.9% of all active accounts will either have no assessment or these checks will happen without friction.

The Government recognises that the threat of movement to the illegal market does exist, but this does not mean that we should avoid appropriate controls on licensed operators. The illegal market is best tackled by improving player safety and managing risk.

We are already taking wider action to tackle the illegal market. Key measures include an additional £26 million of funding over three years for the Gambling Commission to enable them to increase their activity to tackle the illegal market; a consultation on banning physical unlicensed gambling sponsorship and advertising; and the establishment of the Illegal Gambling Taskforce, which will consider what more can be done to tackle the threats posed by the illegal market.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to evaluate the cumulative effect of measures introduced following the White Paper on Gambling Reform for the Digital Age before making further regulatory changes.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

An evaluation is underway to assess the impact of various measures that have been introduced as part of the 2023 Gambling White Paper. DCMS and the Gambling Commission commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to undertake this evaluation in January 2024.

The evaluation will seek to establish whether these measures are being delivered effectively, understand if there are any unintended consequences, and capture learning to inform future policy development. We expect the evaluation report to be published later this year.

However we will continue to consider further reforms where technology develops, consumer behaviour changes or risks arise. Any future regulatory changes will always be based on evidence.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many unlicensed gambling websites targeting UK consumers the Gambling Commission has (1) identified, and (2) taken enforcement action against, in each of the last three years.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The following is a breakdown of enforcement action taken by the Gambling Commission against unlicensed gambling websites from April 2024 to present. Data from before April 2024 is not available.

Between April 2026 – present:

• Issued 290 Cease and Desists to advertisers and operators.

• Reported 147,721 URLs to various search engines and saw 19,678 URLs removed as a result so far.

• Referred 366 websites to the search engines for delisting.

• Disrupted 361 websites meaning they have either been taken down or geo-blocked.

Between April 2025 and March 2026:

• Issued 741 Cease and Desists to advertisers and operators.

• Reported 397,527 URLs to various search engines and saw 266,667 URLs removed as a result.

• Referred 1068 websites to the search engines for delisting.

• Disrupted 1134 websites meaning they have either been taken down or geo-blocked.

Between April 2024 and March 2025

• Issued 868 Cease and Desists to advertisers and operators.

• Reported 143,683 to various search engines and seen 95,759 URLs removed as a result.

• Referred 611 websites to the search engines for delisting.

• Disrupted 496 websites meaning they have either been taken down or geo-blocked.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the tax revenue foregone as a result of UK consumers gambling with unlicensed operators.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not produce an estimate of the tax revenue foregone specifically as a result of UK consumers gambling with unlicensed operators.

The tax gap for betting and gaming duties is included within the “other excise duties” tax gap published in Measuring tax gaps 2026.

Limitations in the available data and methods mean that the tax gap for these components cannot be estimated individually. The average percentage revenue losses should therefore not be considered estimates of the true percentage losses from betting and gaming, as they are unknown.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the (1) economic, (2) transport, and (3) social impact of the closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motor vehicles since 2019.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

As the asset owner and project lead, it would be for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to carry out any impact assessments related to the Hammersmith Bridge restoration project. It is for Transport for London, as London's Strategic Transport Authority, to make any assessment of the impacts of the ongoing closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motor vehicles upon the wider London transport network, such as journey times, congestion, and bus reliability.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards developing structured cooperation between UK local government procurement professionals and Ukrainian municipalities to support (1) anti-corruption measures, and (2) transparent and effective procurement, during Ukraine's reconstruction.

Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Tackling corruption is a critical part of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The UK is supporting Ukraine to strengthen transparent, accountable and effective systems for reconstruction, including public procurement reform, anti-corruption institutions and public investment management. We recognise the value of municipal partnerships in exchanging professional expertise, improving local services and strengthening capacity for locally led recovery.

We will continue to consider how UK procurement expertise can complement these partnerships and existing government-to-government cooperation, while supporting open procurement, value for money and credible accountability throughout the reconstruction project cycle.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress the Illegal Gambling Taskforce has made since its establishment; and what its objectives are for the next 12 months.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Illegal Gambling Taskforce is bringing together a range of stakeholders to consider how to tackle the illegal gambling market. The Taskforce is focusing on three issues relating to illegal gambling. These are the advertising of illegal gambling, preventing payments associated with illegal gambling and improving collaboration between regulators, agencies and law enforcement. The Taskforce has made good progress through its working groups since it was launched in January. We plan to report on this once the Taskforce has completed its first year.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to support the full restoration and timely reopening to motor traffic of Hammersmith Bridge; and whether they are using the Structures Fund to do so.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (as the asset owner and project lead) has applied for further project funding for Hammersmith Bridge via the Government’s Structures Fund, where it will now be considered alongside other project proposals. We are planning to confirm any funding awards later this year.

Found: Apologies and notices Apologies were received from Lord Udny-Lister, Lord Teverson and Specialist Adviser

Found: Muswell Hill Baroness Drake Lord Fuller Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Lord Teverson Lord Udny-Lister