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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has assessed the effectiveness of safeguards in place to prevent underage gambling via smartphone apps.

The government has committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age. Further details will be announced in due course.

Operators are required both by law and by the conditions of their licence from the Gambling Commission to prevent underage gambling. In May 2019 the Commission strengthened requirements for age verification so that operators must verify a customer’s age before they are able to deposit money, place a bet, or access free-to-play games. According to the Gambling Commission’s Young People and Gambling Survey 2019, 7% of 11-16 year olds said they had ever gambled online (a category including both National Lottery games and commercial sites), 5% had used a parent’s account with the parent’s permission and 2% had used a parent’s account without permission, showing that parents also have an important role to play in controlling children’s access to gambling. For further detail, the full survey report can be found at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Young-People-Gambling-Report-2019.pdf