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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is her policy that only charities accredited by the Gambling Commission will be eligible for funding under the statutory levy for gambling research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms; and whether organisations involved in gambling lobbying will be excluded.

Since 1 January 2020, operators have been required to direct their annual financial contribution for gambling research, prevention and treatment as required by Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) SR code 3.1.1 to one or more of the organisations on a list maintained by the Gambling Commission. The purpose of this list is to demonstrate to operators how to be compliant with the LCCP requirement. Once the levy system is in force, it is likely that the LCCP RET will be no longer relevant or needed. The Commission has consulted on this and will publish their response in due course.

It is a priority for levy funding to be directed where it is needed most. This is why we have appointed statutory bodies to lead on research, prevention and treatment which will be led by the evidence of what works to improve and expand efforts to understand, tackle and treat gambling-related harm. We will also put in place robust governance arrangements to ensure that levy funding is spent in line with our objectives.