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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the Gambling Commission allocated funding to NIESR to undertake a study of the Benefits and Costs of Gambling-Related Harm.

The Gambling Commission does not commission projects but instead assesses any proposals that it receives. Regulatory settlements are a possible outcome of Gambling Commission enforcement action, and this may include the operator paying a financial amount for socially responsible purposes. When this occurs, the Commission may approve the destination of the financial element against set criteria, including that proposals must be for socially responsible purposes which address gambling related harms or other licensing objectives. More information on this process and destinations is available at the Commission website.