Gambling: Internet

(asked on 16th December 2020) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on trends in the level of participation in online gambling; and what recent steps his Department has taken to help reduce gambling related harm.


Answered by
Nigel Huddleston Portrait
Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 11th January 2021

Since March, the Gambling Commission has collected and published monthly data from operators alongside regular consumer survey data to understand the impact of covid restrictions on gambling behaviours. Data from online operators representing about 80% of the market showed a significant fall in overall online gambling participation during the early months of the pandemic, with 25% fewer active players across all types of online gambling combined in May 2020 than there had been in March 2020. Participation increased again as restrictions were eased. In October 2020 there were 3% fewer active players across all types of online gambling combined than March 2020 (note that players may be active in more than one type of gambling).

Consumer survey data has also shown that the majority of people spent less or the same on gambling during Covid-19 as they did previously, and people were more likely to report that they had stopped gambling than started for the first time. The latest figures from the Gambling Commission are available at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/News/data-shows-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-gambling-behaviour-in-october-2020

The government has worked closely with the Gambling Commision to take steps to reduce gambling related harm. In April, we banned gambling on credit cards and mandated integration with GAMSTOP (the national online self exclusion scheme). The Commission also directed £8.8 million to GambleAware to ensure its treatment services could continue uninterrupted. In May, tough new rules were introduced for online operators, in response to the potential for pandemic restrictions to increase the risk of gambling harm. New rules on VIP schemes came into force in October, and the Commission will respond to a consultation on new rules for online slots game design early next year.

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