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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the planned timescale is for implementation of the voluntary ban on advertising on television by betting companies during sporting events.

In December the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG) announced changes to its advertising code. These include a ‘whistle to whistle’ ban on all TV betting adverts during pre-watershed live sport, including for 5 minutes before and after play, an end to betting adverts around highlight shows and re-runs, and an end to pre-watershed bookmaker sponsorship of sports programmes. The IGRG announced that the changes are expected to come into effect in summer.