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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to prevent gambling companies from targeting vulnerable communities.

All gambling operators providing gambling facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with strict licence conditions and codes of practice including measures to protect children and vulnerable people. These require operators to put in place robust measures for age verification to ensure children cannot gamble online, an obligation to monitor data and intervene when customers show signs of harm, and a prohibition on operators advertising and marketing to those who have self-excluded.

The Government and the Gambling Commission have also significantly raised requirements around age verification, banned gambling on credit cards, made online slots safer with a new game design code, mandated integration with Gamstop (the one-stop online self exclusion scheme) and introduced new rules on VIP schemes.

We are also reviewing the Gambling Act to ensure it is fit for the digital age. A core objective of the Review is to ensure effective protections are in place for the further protection of vulnerable groups. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a white paper outlining any conclusions and proposals for reform in due course.