Mentions:
1: Philip Davies (Con - Shipley) likely to make things worse for people with a gambling addiction, rather than better. - Speech Link
2: Paul Blomfield (Lab - Sheffield Central) 1.5 million people—score over eight on the problem gambling severity index. - Speech Link
3: Laurence Robertson (Con - Tewkesbury) be liable to become addicted to gambling, rather than people who spend too much on gambling. - Speech Link
4: Kenny MacAskill (Alba - East Lothian) When I was young, they always seemed quite intimidatory. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Viscount Stansgate (Lab - Excepted Hereditary) It is highly competitive, and the most brilliant young people came. - Speech Link
2: Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab - Life peer) I start with JK Rowling, who has probably encouraged more young people to read books than anybody else - Speech Link
3: Baroness Sater (Con - Life peer) I declare my interest as a vice-chair of the APPG on Financial Education for Young People. - 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
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that the gaming industry complies with voluntary or self-regulatory measures to prevent gambling harms.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Following the Government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes in video games, the Government has welcomed new industry-led guidance that aims to address the concerns identified for all players, including young people.
Measures to protect players should ensure that the purchase of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless enabled by a parent or guardian, and all players should have access to, and be aware of, spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gameplay.
The Government has agreed a 12-month implementation period for the new guidance on loot boxes and has asked the industry, coordinated by Ukie, to report back to DCMS on the extent to which it has been implemented.
We will continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review, informed by academic scrutiny of the industry-led measures. We will provide a further update in due course, following the 12-month implementation period.
Mentions:
1: Stuart Andrew (Con - Pudsey) The Government launched three consultations following the gambling White Paper. - Speech Link
2: Helen Morgan (LD - North Shropshire) Given the lack of public transport, I am concerned that young people will not be able to learn to swim - Speech Link
3: Lucy Frazer (Con - South East Cambridgeshire) people involved in sport. - Speech Link
4: Lucy Frazer (Con - South East Cambridgeshire) He is a fabulous champion for Lichfield, and I am pleased that young people in Lichfield are getting - Speech Link
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help prevent addiction to gambling among young people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that it is particularly important to take steps to protect young people at risk of gambling harms and addiction.
We recently published a white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005, and are working with the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to bring these measures into force as soon as possible, subject to further consultation where appropriate. The paper introduces a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected, including young people. These include strengthening the land-based age verification regime, especially around gaming machines in pubs, bringing society lotteries and football pools into line with the National Lottery by raising the minimum age to 18, and putting new expectations on operators to consider age as a potential factor in customer vulnerability.
Over recent years, the Government has worked with the Gambling Commission and others on a range of measures to protect young people from gambling related harm. This includes tightening the age verification requirements for both land-based and online operators in 2019, and raising the minimum age to play the National Lottery to 18 and over in 2021. Last year the Committees of Advertising Practice updated advertising rules so that gambling adverts cannot have strong appeal to children even if they appeal more to adults.
In addition to these regulatory changes, specific steps have been taken to prevent and treat gambling harm in young people. Since September 2020, teaching young people about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt, has been included in the curriculum for all schools under Health Education in all state-funded schools, alongside Relationships Education (primary) and Relationships and Sex Education (secondary). In 2019 the NHS young person gambling addiction service was also launched.
Mentions:
1: Lord Foster of Bath (LD - Life peer) and regulated as gambling. - Speech Link
2: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con - Life peer) The industry employs 27,000 people across the country, with nearly 80% of those people based outside - Speech Link
3: Viscount Colville of Culross (XB - Excepted Hereditary) My Lords, players who buy loot boxes, including young people, are often victims of well-known psychological - Speech Link
4: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con - Life peer) As the noble Viscount will know, we have taken action more widely to ensure that people at risk of gambling - Speech Link
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to regulate the advertising of gambling (a) to young and (b) other people.
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. It is particularly important to take steps to protect young people from risks associated with problem online gambling.
There are robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. Gambling advertising is covered by the UK Advertising Codes which are regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority, and there are also specific Gambling Commission licence conditions which regulate how gambling operators advertise. The UK Advertising Codes were further strengthened last year with new protections for children and vulnerable adults.
Earlier this year, we published the white paper on gambling which outlined a comprehensive package of reforms to make gambling safer. This included measures to tackle the most aggressive and harmful advertising practices by preventing bonuses being constructed and targeted in harmful ways, giving customers more control over the marketing they receive, and introducing messaging on the risks associated with gambling. The Commission has already consulted on improving marketing consents, and we are working closely with them and others to bring the changes into force as quickly as possible.
Found: E-petition debate on financial risk checks for gambling
Written Evidence Jan. 30 2024
Inquiry: Financial EducationFound: The online world offers enormous opportunities to children, young people and families.