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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Public Health England’s research and analysis entitled Gambling-related harms evidence review, updated on 30 September 2021, what assessment her Department has made of the potential (a) economic and (b) social effects on people and communities of the National Lottery’s shift towards online-based games and away from traditional draw-based games.

The Department and the Gambling Commission as the independent regulator share three statutory duties in relation to the National Lottery - to ensure that the National Lottery is run with all due propriety, that the interests of every participant are protected, and - subject to those duties - that returns to good causes are maximised. The National Lottery is regulated under a separate framework from commercial gambling, with additional requirements regarding the protection of players.

'Instants games’ have been part of the National Lottery portfolio for the majority of the time since the National Lottery was launched in 1994. Scratchcards were introduced in 1995 and online Interactive Instant Win Games in 2003. A broad portfolio ensures the National Lottery continues to appeal to a wide range of people and can provide substantial contributions for good causes every week.

All games, including instants games, are licensed by the Gambling Commission. In determining whether to licence games, the Commission will consider the potential impact on players and the player protection mechanisms which are in place to protect players from harm.

The current National Lottery operator has a range of online player protection tools for players (for example self-exclusion tools, spend and play limits, and the option to set lower limits) and has developed an online algorithm for identifying at risk and problem play which alerts players to help encourage healthy play habits.

Evidence from the latest (2018) Health Survey for England shows that National Lottery games were associated with the lowest rates of problem gambling of all gambling products considered. Problem gambling rates for National Lottery draw-based games were 0.9% while the figure for Scratchcards was 1.4%.