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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Gambling Commission’s "special measures" process in protecting consumers; and whether they have discussed with the Gambling Commission publishing data on the number of firms subject to such measures and the financial penalties involved.

The Gambling Commission consistently publishes details of its enforcement outcomes on its website. Since 2016/17, over 100 enforcement actions have resulted in more than £206 million in fines and regulatory settlements from gambling operators. In recent years the Gambling Commission’s enforcement activity has increased, which has led to greater indications that the industry is making gambling safer and reducing the possibility of criminal funds entering their businesses.

The Gambling Commission, like most regulators, has a range of different interventions it can make. This includes a threshold below which it will not publicise its interventions. The intention of this special measures process is to incentivise operators into immediate compliance, and to mitigate any risks to customers in the shortest possible timeframe. However, where there are significant ongoing risks and these have not been mitigated appropriately this approach would not be pursued.