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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the amount of consumer data held by gambling operators, and (2) whether this data could be used to prevent gambling-related harm.

The government announced the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December 2020, starting with a wide ranging Call for Evidence. The Call for Evidence closed on 31 March 2021 and we received c.16,000 submissions which we are carefully considering. Part of this work will include considering where additional evidence may be required. We aim to publish a white paper outlining our conclusions and policy proposals by the end of the year.

The Commission requires all operators to monitor gambling activity across a range of indicators and to intervene where a customer may be at risk of harm. As part of our Review of the Gambling Act, we are looking at whether the data collected by operators, particularly remote operators, could be better deployed to support the government's objectives including the prevention of harm to children and vulnerable people.