Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's consultation on the statutory levy on gambling operators, published on 17 October 2023, for what reason the proposed statutory levy rate for remote pools betting was set at 1%.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Higher rates of problem gambling are associated with certain products, particularly those online, compared to most land-based products. We want to take this into account in the design of the statutory levy, as well as the higher operating costs in the land-based sector. Public Health England’s evidence review of gambling-related harms, based on Health Survey data, showed football pools to have a 'problem gambling' rate of 5%, which is higher than the population level which has been at or below 1% for the past 20 years.
The consultation on the design of the statutory levy opened on 17 October and has now closed. Our consultation specifically invited views on the question of levy rates so that the Government has the best available evidence to inform our final policy decisions on the structure of the levy. The Government is carefully considering the evidence received, and we will publish our response to the consultation in due course.
Mentions:
1: Lord Foster of Bath (LD - Life peer) the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, I declare an interest as chairman of Peers for Gambling - Speech Link
2: Lord Foster of Bath (LD - Life peer) Can the Minister explain why the Government rightly regulate the gambling industry but do not regulate - Speech Link
3: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con - Life peer) children; and, of course, we have increased the minimum age to participate in society lotteries and football - Speech Link
4: Lord Addington (LD - Excepted Hereditary) Even without the gambling element here, or the gambling similarity, that cannot be right. - Speech Link
5: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con - Life peer) Under the terms of the Gambling Act, gambling is defined as“playing a game of chance for a prize”of money - Speech Link
Correspondence Dec. 12 2023
Committee: Culture, Media and Sport Committee (Department: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport)Found: Letter from Michael Dugher, Chief Executive, Betting and Gaming Council, relating to Gambling and the
Correspondence Feb. 21 2024
Committee: Culture, Media and Sport Committee (Department: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport)Found: Letter from Rt Hon Lord Foster of Bath, Chair, Peers for Gambling Reform, relating to Gambling regulation
Mentions:
1: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab - Life peer) When can we expect to see any gambling legislation to bring in effective regulation of online gambling - Speech Link
2: Viscount Chandos (Lab - Life peer) I draw on football analogies without having the time, much less the expertise, to comment on the football - Speech Link
3: Lord Foster of Bath (LD - Life peer) Our research shows that increased exposure to gambling can influence attitudes towards gambling and the - Speech Link
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering financial compensation to people affected by the collapse of BetIndex.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The collapse of BetIndex Ltd, the operators of the novel gambling product Football Index, had a significant impact on former customers, and we recognise the frustration and anger that this has caused. As a result, the Government announced an Independent Review, conducted by Malcolm Sheehan KC, which looked at how the company had been regulated and identified lessons learned for various agencies. These recommendations have since been implemented.
Company liquidation proceedings are ongoing, and former customers will be considered among the creditors as company assets are divided.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of implementing a ban on gambling advertising on all parts of football kits.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes, with a 96% reduction in gambling TV advertising specifically during the restricted period.
As part of the Gambling review, consideration was given to a range of restrictions on gambling advertising. As set out in the white paper we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising and that which is most likely to appeal to children, while still allowing sports bodies to benefit commercially from deals with responsible gambling firms.
Mentions:
1: Stuart Andrew (Con - Pudsey) will establish an independent football regulator. - Speech Link
2: Liz Twist (Lab - Blaydon) What her planned timetable is for responding to the consultation on the statutory levy on gambling operators - Speech Link
3: Luke Evans (Con - Bosworth) stability of football clubs. - Speech Link
4: Lucy Frazer (Con - South East Cambridgeshire) with the financial sustainability of football as a whole. - Speech Link
5: Stuart Andrew (Con - Pudsey) He will be aware that we have looked at a range of issues in relation to gambling, lotteries and society - Speech Link
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the University of Bristol research paper entitled, The prevalence of gambling adverts during the opening weekend of the English Premier League 2023-23, published 2024; and if she will take legislative steps to reduce the number of gambling adverts shown during football matches.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble online without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while still allowing sports bodies and others to benefit commercially from deals with responsible gambling firms. There are robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes. We also welcomed the Premier League’s announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts, and are working with a wider group of sports governing bodies to introduce a Code of Conduct on responsible gambling sponsorship.
We continue to monitor research, and have carefully considered the findings in the study by the University of Bristol. Furthermore, we are introducing a statutory levy charged to gambling operators which will raise trusted, long-term funding for gambling research. We are clear that we will continue to look carefully at any further research that results from that and take action if necessary.
Correspondence Feb. 06 2024
Committee: Culture, Media and Sport Committee (Department: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport)Found: Letter from Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP, Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society, relating to oral