Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of financial penalties for gambling operators in relation to breaches involving adult gaming centres, and whether further measures are needed to strengthen enforcement.

Where there is evidence of non-compliance with the license conditions, the Gambling Commission takes decisive regulatory action. This includes the suspension of licenses and financial penalties for operators. In the last year, the Commission has issued 11 financial penalties and one regulatory settlement to adult gaming centres involved in breaches, totalling £205,149. All licencees subject to suspension had their licenses restored within a few days after taking immediate steps to address failings, highlighting the effectiveness of the Commission’s enforcement work.

In addition to the Gambling Commission's compliance and enforcement activity, several further measures have been introduced to strengthen protections in adult gaming centres. This includes the Government's decision not to proceed with further deregulation after self-exclusion failures were identified in several AGCs, the requirement for AGCs to contribute to the the statutory gambling levy to support the research and prevention of gambling harm, and the review of the Gaming Machine Technical Standards, which will further improve player protections for gaming machines.