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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the measures in place to protect (1) young, and (2) vulnerable, people from problem online gambling.

All online gambling operators must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the strict licence conditions including measures to protect children and vulnerable people. Importantly, this includes tough age verification requirements to ensure children cannot gamble online, and an obligation on operators to monitor data and intervene when customers show signs of a risk of harm.

In addition to this, the Government and the Gambling Commission have significantly strengthened the age verification requirements, 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.

Building on this record, we are reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the Gambling Act Review is looking at the effectiveness of existing measures to ensure the protection of young and vulnerable people from the risks associated with online gambling. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a white paper outlining any conclusions and proposals for reform in due course.