Gambling: Regulatory Reform

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) for leading this important debate, and for setting the scene so well for all of us. What brings me here, like many others who have spoken, are personal relationships with those who have a gambling addiction. That is foremost in my mind when we have debates that refer to gambling regulation.

Not so long ago I spoke in a Westminster Hall debate on gambling harm, particularly the impact on health and the damage it does to people across the United Kingdom, especially in Northern Ireland, where the rates are much higher. I am going to give some very worrying stats, but it is great to be here to further advocate better gambling regulation.

About 10 years ago, a couple from Northern Ireland came to me when they heard about gambling legislation and the problems with addiction, and they told me the story of their son. The hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) told the story about his friend, and this started off similarly, with small bets. However, all of a sudden it escalated to giant amounts of money, and he found himself in so much debt that he could not deal with it, and unfortunately he took his own life. When I think of gambling addiction, I think of those parents and their son, and I think of that loss of life. That story reminds me that there are consequences to gambling. There are many people who gamble for whom it is a flutter and nothing else, but for others it becomes an addiction—a life-focusing addiction that ultimately takes away their life.

I remember one morning getting some petrol from the garage, and there was a wee lady ahead of me in the queue, who had a pram and youngster outside. She bought £10-worth of lottery tickets. Forgive me for saying this, but as I see it, that lady had perhaps hoped that the £10 of lottery tickets would give her the money that she needed for her shopping—the money she needed for her children. I was at the back of the queue, she was at the front, so when I walked out of the shop, she had scraped off all the coverings on the tickets, but there were no winners. She had not won anything, but she had spent £10 on tickets. I realised that this lady was desperate, and had thought a flutter on lottery tickets would bring her the money she needed to help her pay for the groceries and look after her children. It was desperation. Sometimes gambling does that to ordinary people.

I am pleased to see the Minister in his place, and I look forward to his response. I will probably have an ask of him—indeed, I always do. In Northern Ireland there is legislation that is trying to change things, so I hope the Minister can update us on the Northern Ireland Assembly in relation to where the legislation is and how we can help them advance it. My understanding is that something has to be done here to make it happen there.

In the last Parliament, I was vice-chair of the APPG for gambling related harm. I was pleased to hear of the proposed changes to gambling regulations in last week’s Budget, when the Chancellor announced that the duty on remote online gambling will increase from 21% to 40%, starting next April. I fully support the Government’s Budget intentions—they are doing the right thing, in my opinion. There was also a change to online sports betting duty, from 15% to 25% from April 2027. Again, I support the Government on that; it is the right thing to do and it should have happened a long time ago.

We are all aware of the dangers of online betting, especially for young people. In the last 12 months there have been very worrying figures about Northern Ireland: 30% of 11 to 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland have gambled in one form or another. Imagine if that was here on the mainland, in England, Wales or Scotland. It is really worrying.

There is no doubt that gambling is becoming increasingly more accessible, with the prevalence of people present online. The DUP leadership in the Northern Ireland Assembly has previously endorsed and used updated legislation that regulates gambling in Northern Ireland, due to the knock-on effect it has been proven to have on people’s lives. The recognition of the potential harm, based on evidence, is important. There is a willingness in Northern Ireland to change the legislation and to perhaps follow the direction that this Government have taken. The older framework for gambling has been described previously as outdated and there is no doubt that there is a need for change.

There are major issues surrounding the accessibility of gambling throughout the United Kingdom. I have seen first hand the devastation that gambling addiction can cause. From the emotional to the financial, the impacts are endless. Unfortunately, it is a hole that many struggle to get out of; they just seem to get in deeper and deeper, and into more and more debt. Sometimes, they see no way out.

The prevalence of gambling in Northern Ireland is among the highest in the whole of the United Kingdom. Reports have shown that Northern Ireland exceeds the mainland statistics by yards—indeed, probably by miles. We also have higher levels of poverty, poor mental health and social disadvantage. Adding gambling on top of that creates a very heavy issue and a potential for harm that is at times hard to comprehend.

We have the potential through this Budget to mark a turning point in how we regard gambling, particularly online and remote gambling. This is a clear step to taking responsibility, but more must still be done. This is not enough. The Government and this Budget have set a trend that I and many others welcome, but it is not enough.

All regions across the whole of the United Kingdom need to do more to ensure that this is not an accessible process. We must embed robust safeguards to protect young people, address online gambling and aid vulnerable individuals and those who already face hardships, which means stronger regulation of advertising and tighter restrictions.

I look forward very much to seeing the plans put into action and to enhancing the regulation across the whole of the United Kingdom. Today, I look forward very much to the Minister’s reply to the requests we are putting to him. I believe the Government are going in the right direction. Let us do more. Let us save all these young people with addictions and give them the chance to have a better life, which we are duty bound to provide.