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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Gambling Commission’s Gambling participation in 2018: behaviour, awareness and attitudes survey findings that (1) there has been a three per cent decline in the proportion of respondents who think that gambling is fair and can be trusted, compared to 2017, and (2) 71 per cent of respondents think that gambling is dangerous for family life.

Millions of people enjoy gambling responsibly, but this must be balanced against the need to protect vulnerable people from gambling-related harm. We recognise there are risks associated with gambling, which is why there is a strong regulatory framework designed to prevent harm, as well as provisions to support those who do experience harm.

Regulation of gambling in Great Britain is governed by the licensing objectives in the Gambling Act 2005, which include keeping gambling fair and open and protecting children and vulnerable people. All gambling companies providing facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with its licence conditions and codes of practice. The Gambling Commission monitors operators to ensure that they comply with their licence conditions and can take regulatory action where there is evidence of a breach.

The government's Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures looked at protections on gaming machines, online gambling and gambling advertising and set out a comprehensive package of measures to further strengthen these.