Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people were refused entry to the European Championship Final at Wembley on 11 July 2021 for breaking covid-19 quarantine rules.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
The Government was clear that anyone suspected of entering the UK with the intention of breaching isolation in order to attend a EURO 2020 match would be denied entry, and that their tickets may be cancelled (if not transferred to someone else). This policy combined with communications to supporters of teams playing in the UK had a significant deterrent effect on those who might otherwise have travelled to the UK for the tournament.
All EURO 2020 matches at Wembley were subject to strict entry requirements. Those seeking to enter were required to provide a negative Lateral Flow test result or (for those from England, Scotland and Wales) proof of full vaccination. Anyone failing to provide these would have been denied entry. The English Football Association was responsible for enforcing these requirements and no data is held on whether any of those denied entry were also deemed to have been breaking border restrictions.
Of the Italian contingent present at the Final, the vast majority were based in the UK (as - other than in the original ballot prior to the pandemic - tickets were not sold to people outside of the Common Travel Area). A small contingent of accredited guests were exempt from the isolation requirement in order to attend the match, but otherwise subject to strict public health restrictions - this included a group of c380 who flew in and out on the day, with no contact with the general public.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2021 to Question 4020 on National Lottery: Computer Software, if he will publish the findings of all monitoring work undertaken by the Gambling Commission since 2010.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The Gambling Commision is the independent regulator of the National Lottery and one of its statutory duties is to ensure that the interests of all players are protected, alongside ensuring the National Lottery is run with due propriety and that returns to good causes are maximised.
Monitoring is therefore an ongoing process and the Gambling Commission has undertaken an extensive amount of work in this area since 2010. As a result, it is not possible to collate and publish this information in its entirety.
The Gambling Commission publishes details of significant regulatory decisions and the rationale supporting those decisions on its website here:
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/guide/licence-to-run-the-national-lottery.
In addition, wider data and research relating to the National Lottery, such as statistics around participation rates, can be found on the Gambling Commission’s website here:
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/statistics-and-research.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what checks were put in place by the Gambling Commission to ensure the National Lottery was not causing harm to consumers before it extended Camelot UK Lotteries Limited’s licence in June 2020.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The third National Lottery licence contains a provision which allows the Gambling Commission, as the sector regulator, to extend the duration of this Licence for a period of six months. A maximum of two extensions are permitted.
The Gambling Commission decided to enact the first six-month extension to the third licence, due to the impact of the pandemic on the fourth National Lottery licence competition. The licence was extended on existing terms of the Third National Lottery licence. More information can be found on their website, here.
The third National Lottery licence requires the operator to implement player protection strategies to prevent underage and excessive play which must be approved by the Gambling Commission.
The Gambling Commission then adopts a variety of measures to monitor, assess and challenge the National Lottery operator’s player protection performance. This includes detailed monitoring to identify risks to players, and where appropriate, undertaking strategic reviews of areas of the portfolio which are identified as higher (but not necessarily high) risk.
The Gambling Commission is also responsible for approving proposed changes to National Lottery games where it carries out thorough assessments of National Lottery game change proposals in line with its statutory duties, including ensuring that such proposals do not present risks from a player protection perspective.
Evidence from the latest (2018) Health Survey for England shows that National Lottery games were associated with the lowest rates of problem gambling of all gambling products considered.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Gambling Commission made of Camelot UK Lotteries Limited’s performance and delivery before the decision was taken to extend its licence in June 2020.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The third National Lottery licence contains a provision which allows the Gambling Commission, as the sector regulator, to extend the duration of this Licence for a period of six months. A maximum of two extensions are permitted.
The Gambling Commission decided to enact the first six-month extension to the third licence, due to the impact of the pandemic on the fourth National Lottery licence competition. The licence was extended on existing terms of the Third National Lottery licence. More information can be found on their website, here.
The third National Lottery licence requires the operator to implement player protection strategies to prevent underage and excessive play which must be approved by the Gambling Commission.
The Gambling Commission then adopts a variety of measures to monitor, assess and challenge the National Lottery operator’s player protection performance. This includes detailed monitoring to identify risks to players, and where appropriate, undertaking strategic reviews of areas of the portfolio which are identified as higher (but not necessarily high) risk.
The Gambling Commission is also responsible for approving proposed changes to National Lottery games where it carries out thorough assessments of National Lottery game change proposals in line with its statutory duties, including ensuring that such proposals do not present risks from a player protection perspective.
Evidence from the latest (2018) Health Survey for England shows that National Lottery games were associated with the lowest rates of problem gambling of all gambling products considered.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Gambling Commission made of the impact on (a) the National Lottery and (b) competition for the next licence of renewing Camelot UK Lotteries Limited licence in June 2020 to run the National Lottery.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The third National Lottery licence contains a provision which allows the Gambling Commission, as the sector regulator, to extend the duration of this Licence for a period of six months. A maximum of two extensions are permitted.
The Gambling Commission decided to enact the first six-month extension to the third licence, due to the impact of the pandemic on the fourth National Lottery licence competition. The licence was extended on existing terms of the Third National Lottery licence. More information can be found on their website, here.
The third National Lottery licence requires the operator to implement player protection strategies to prevent underage and excessive play which must be approved by the Gambling Commission.
The Gambling Commission then adopts a variety of measures to monitor, assess and challenge the National Lottery operator’s player protection performance. This includes detailed monitoring to identify risks to players, and where appropriate, undertaking strategic reviews of areas of the portfolio which are identified as higher (but not necessarily high) risk.
The Gambling Commission is also responsible for approving proposed changes to National Lottery games where it carries out thorough assessments of National Lottery game change proposals in line with its statutory duties, including ensuring that such proposals do not present risks from a player protection perspective.
Evidence from the latest (2018) Health Survey for England shows that National Lottery games were associated with the lowest rates of problem gambling of all gambling products considered.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2021 to Question 4020 on National Lottery: Computer Software, for what reasons the Government increased the minimum age for entry to (a) the National Lottery in December 2020 and (b) all games operated by Camelot UK Lotteries Limited in April 2021.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
Legislation was laid in December 2020 to increase the minimum age for all National Lottery products from 16 to 18 from 1 October 2021, in order to protect 16 and 17 year olds from the risk of gambling-related harm. This followed a public consultation in 2019, and more detailed information can be found in the consultation response and the accompanying impact assessment.
As anticipated in the consultation response, the National Lottery operator was able to implement the change more swiftly, with the new minimum age being implemented online and in retail on 22 April 2021.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2021 to Question 4020, how many times Camelot UK Lotteries Limited has submitted (a) a risk assessment, (b) an assessment by the game design governance group and (c) academic research to the Gambling Commission for (i) new game proposals and (ii) changes to existing games in each year since 1994; and what the nature and outcome of each of those items was.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The Gambling Commission is the independent regulator of the National Lottery and has statutory duties to ensure that the interests of all players are protected, the Lottery is run with due propriety and that returns to good causes are maximised.
Details of significant regulatory decisions and the rationale supporting those decisions are published and can be found on the Gambling Commission’s website.
It has not been possible for the Gambling Commission to collate the requested information in the time available, and confirm how many times the National Lottery operator has submitted (a) a risk assessment, (b) an assessment by the game design governance group and (c) academic research to the Gambling Commission for (i) new game proposals and (ii) changes to existing games in each year since 1994; and the nature and outcome of each of those items.