Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department’s consultation on the statutory levy on gambling operators, which closed on 14 December 2023, how many responses to the consultation were received in total; and what proportion of those responses were from the gambling industry.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators will represent a generational change to funding arrangements and a renewed commitment to improving efforts to further understand, tackle and treat harmful gambling. We want to see levy funding directed where it is needed most across research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. As set out in our public consultation, the prevention stream could see investment directed for projects to build capacity and expertise in frontline settings to increase responsiveness to gambling harm, including criminal justice settings.
We are now closely considering all evidence received to best guide the implementation of the statutory levy in an effective, fair and proportionate way. We will publish a response to the consultation setting out our final decisions soon. This will also include a full list of organisations who agreed to attribute their response to their organisation.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of providing interventions in the criminal justice system for offenders harmed by gambling; and whether these costs are being considered in the development of proposals for the statutory levy on gambling operators.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators will represent a generational change to funding arrangements and a renewed commitment to improving efforts to further understand, tackle and treat harmful gambling. We want to see levy funding directed where it is needed most across research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. As set out in our public consultation, the prevention stream could see investment directed for projects to build capacity and expertise in frontline settings to increase responsiveness to gambling harm, including criminal justice settings.
We are now closely considering all evidence received to best guide the implementation of the statutory levy in an effective, fair and proportionate way. We will publish a response to the consultation setting out our final decisions soon. This will also include a full list of organisations who agreed to attribute their response to their organisation.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for publishing the outcome of her Department's consultation on the statutory levy on gambling operators, which closed on 14 December 2023.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators will represent a generational change to funding arrangements and a renewed commitment to improving efforts to further understand, tackle and treat harmful gambling. We want to see levy funding directed where it is needed most across research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. As set out in our public consultation, the prevention stream could see investment directed for projects to build capacity and expertise in frontline settings to increase responsiveness to gambling harm, including criminal justice settings.
We are now closely considering all evidence received to best guide the implementation of the statutory levy in an effective, fair and proportionate way. We will publish a response to the consultation setting out our final decisions soon. This will also include a full list of organisations who agreed to attribute their response to their organisation.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the study by Gabriel A. Brooks and Luke Clark entitled, The gamblers of the future? Migration from loot boxes to gambling in a longitudinal study of young adults, published in Computers in Human Behaviour, volume 141, in April 2023.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government struck a balanced and evidence-led approach in our review of gambling regulation. We continue to monitor research, and have carefully considered the findings in this study. We recognise that there is a growing body of research that provides evidence of an association between loot box purchases and gambling activity, as well as evidence of a link with a variety of harms, including harmful gambling. However, research has not established whether a causal relationship exists, and there are a range of plausible explanations.
In order to address gaps in research around these and similar areas, we have developed and published the Video Games Research Framework to support high quality independent research into video games, including loot boxes. We are also introducing a statutory levy charged to gambling operators which will raise trusted, long-term funding for gambling research. We are clear that we will continue to look carefully at any further research that results from that and take action if necessary.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the University of Bristol research paper entitled, The prevalence of gambling adverts during the opening weekend of the English Premier League 2023-23, published 2024; and if she will take legislative steps to reduce the number of gambling adverts shown during football matches.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble online without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while still allowing sports bodies and others to benefit commercially from deals with responsible gambling firms. There are robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes. We also welcomed the Premier League’s announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts, and are working with a wider group of sports governing bodies to introduce a Code of Conduct on responsible gambling sponsorship.
We continue to monitor research, and have carefully considered the findings in the study by the University of Bristol. Furthermore, we are introducing a statutory levy charged to gambling operators which will raise trusted, long-term funding for gambling research. We are clear that we will continue to look carefully at any further research that results from that and take action if necessary.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the gambling industry on the potential impact of safer gambling week on (a) the volume of (i) marketing and (ii) direct marketing offers, (b) game speed and (c) gambling harm.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences.
The Secretary of State and I recently met with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and other industry representatives to discuss industry-led safer gambling measures and implementation of the gambling white paper. We welcome industry-led initiatives such as Safer Gambling Week. Figures from the BGC indicate that in 2022 Safer Gambling Week messaging made nearly 30 million impressions on social media, and that around 200,000 accounts set deposit limits during that month, with 61 percent of those players setting a limit for the first time. Such limits can be an important measure in preventing harm. We understand safer gambling week has no impact on the volume of marketing (although its content is likely to be different) or game speed.
However, as outlined in the gambling white paper, we are working with the industry, Gambling Commission and others to implement a wide range of proportionate measures to protect customers from practices and products which can drive harm.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the gambling industry on the effectiveness of safer gambling week for reducing gambling harm.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences.
The Secretary of State and I recently met with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and other industry representatives to discuss industry-led safer gambling measures and implementation of the gambling white paper. We welcome industry-led initiatives such as Safer Gambling Week. Figures from the BGC indicate that in 2022 Safer Gambling Week messaging made nearly 30 million impressions on social media, and that around 200,000 accounts set deposit limits during that month, with 61 percent of those players setting a limit for the first time. Such limits can be an important measure in preventing harm. We understand safer gambling week has no impact on the volume of marketing (although its content is likely to be different) or game speed.
However, as outlined in the gambling white paper, we are working with the industry, Gambling Commission and others to implement a wide range of proportionate measures to protect customers from practices and products which can drive harm.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the timing of the publication of the gambling white paper on (a) the economy and (b) society.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Gambling Act Review is an extensive evidence-led review, which aims to ensure regulation is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out our vision and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the nature of the financial relationship between the EFL and SkyBet.
Answered by Paul Scully
Football clubs can enter a wide variety of commercial partnerships and all partnerships with gambling operators must be conducted in a socially responsible fashion and never target children or vulnerable people. Sky Bet’s title sponsorship of the EFL is a long-standing commercial arrangement established in 2013 with the current contract running to 2024. The arrangement includes a number of social responsibility commitments, such as ensuring there is no branding in family areas of the stadia and mandatory inclusion of safer gambling messaging on kits and in stadia.
Gambling sponsorship and the relationship between sports and gambling is included in the scope of the government's wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act. A White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps will be published in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) the Gambling Commission and (b) her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of technology such as open banking to remove the need for customers to hand over financial information for affordability checks to multiple online gambling operators.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government and Gambling Commission are exploring how technology and data can be harnessed in a number of areas to better prevent harmful gambling online. We recognise the role that data sharing could play in supporting interventions across multiple operators, as well as the benefits of considering a player’s financial circumstances as part of a rounded assessment of whether they are at risk of harm. The government’s white paper on the Gambling Act Review will be published in the coming weeks.
It is important that any data-driven protections are proportionate, handle data securely, and are implemented in a way that is acceptable to consumers. Officials from the Department and the Commission have therefore met a range of technology providers to understand potential delivery options, including those which may cause less friction in the customer journey such as checks facilitated by open banking.
The Single Customer View project is currently in a pilot stage with GAMSTOP, which operates the national online self-exclusion scheme, as technical provider. This is taking place within the Information Commissioner’s Office regulatory sandbox, and progress will be closely monitored by Government and regulators. There will be ongoing evaluations once data sharing has started. The Gambling Commission’s most recent update surrounding progress and next steps can be found here, and the Information Commissioner’s update on the sandbox can be found here.