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

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make (a) an assessment of the implications for her policies of the fact that over half of child gamblers last gambled at a family arcade or amusement centre and (b) it her policy to review category D provisions that exempt family arcades from needing a licence to operate machines with money prizes.

Protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling is a core objective of the regulation of gambling in Great Britain, and a priority for the government. The Government has committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 and will announce further details in due course.

Depending on the category of machines they offer, Family Entertainment Centres (FECs) may require either a licence from the Gambling Commission or a permit from the local authority. FECs which are not licensed by the Commission may offer only category D machines and fall under the control of the local authority. Category D machines include crane grabs and penny falls; slot machines with a money prize are permitted a maximum stake of 10p and maximum prize of £5.

In considering applications for FEC permits, the local authority must have regard to the licensing objectives in the Gambling Act 2005, which include preventing children from being harmed and exploited by gambling. The machine supplier must also be licensed by the Gambling Commission.

Voluntary action is being taken by the sector to improve safer gambling standards in all FECs and the government will continue to challenge operators to build on this. For example, in November the arcades trade association BACTA announced a new rule in its Code of Conduct preventing young people under the age of 16 playing on category D slot machines with a money prize unless accompanied by an adult.

The evidence suggests that the number of children and young people participating in gambling is reducing. The Gambling Commission’s annual survey of young people in 2019 found that 11% had spent their own money on a gambling activity in the 7 days prior to taking part in the study, compared to 14% in 2018 and 23% in 2011.