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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what concerns relating to problem gambling and women they intend to address in their Review of the Gambling Act 2005.

The Gambling Commission is continuing to monitor gambling behaviour during the Covid-19 period. Survey data published by the Commission in January indicated that 87% of women gamblers have gambled the same amount or less during the pandemic than they had previously. The Commission recently wrote to operators to remind them of its guidance issued in May 2020, which requires them to increase protections for those who may be at heightened risk of gambling harm. That guidance directed operators to monitor customer behaviour more closely to identify signs of potential harm, and banned mechanisms by which customers could cancel requests to withdraw money from their account.

The Gambling Commission also conducts a quarterly telephone survey of gambling behaviours which collects data about problem gambling prevalence. The most recent wave of that survey was carried out in September, and aggregated results for the year to September 2020 estimated the problem gambling rate amongst women to be 0.3%. This is higher than the rate estimated for the year to September 2019 (0.1%), but lower than the rate estimated for the year to March 2020 (0.4%). Caution should be used when interpreting these figures due to the low numbers of respondents involved. Much of the data for the year to September 2020 was collected prior to the Covid-19 period, and problem gambling is measured using questions which ask about past year experiences and behaviours, so it is not possible to accurately assess the relative impact of the pandemic on fluctuations in currently available data. The Commission will publish the next wave of telephone survey data later this month, which will give figures for the year to December 2020.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8th December with the publication of a call for evidence. The Review will be wide-ranging and evidence-led, and aims to make sure we have the right balance for regulation and appropriate protections for all vulnerable people.