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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling on those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Public Health England (PHE)’s evidence review of gambling-related harms found that the socio-demographic profile of gamblers appears to change as gambling risk increases, with people who are unemployed and people living in more deprived areas showing higher rates of harmful gambling although they have relatively lower levels of participation.

The Gambling Commission requires gambling operators to have completed local risk assessments for each of their gambling premises. This is to ensure that they take into account factors near to their premises, including aspects of economic disadvantage such as addiction treatment centres or homelessness hostels. In accordance with the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act, operators must ensure that they mitigate against these risks.