Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what obligations adult gaming centre operators have to report (a) antisocial behaviour and (b) violence on their premises to the police.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS and the Gambling Commission do not hold data on the number or nature of police call outs to adult gaming centres.
All licensed gambling operators must uphold the licensing objectives set out in the Gambling Act, which include preventing gambling from being a source of, or associated with, crime or disorder. Licensing authorities are also able to set specific conditions on premises licences to mitigate risks posed by antisocial behaviour and crime, such as enhanced security requirements. Premises licence holders must also conduct a local area risk assessment for each of their premises, which includes risk mitigation related to crime and anti-social behaviour. Additionally, schemes such as Betwatch, a community-based crime prevention scheme, are designed to tackle localised anti-social and criminal behaviour in and around betting shops.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) nature of police call outs to adult gaming centres.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS and the Gambling Commission do not hold data on the number or nature of police call outs to adult gaming centres.
All licensed gambling operators must uphold the licensing objectives set out in the Gambling Act, which include preventing gambling from being a source of, or associated with, crime or disorder. Licensing authorities are also able to set specific conditions on premises licences to mitigate risks posed by antisocial behaviour and crime, such as enhanced security requirements. Premises licence holders must also conduct a local area risk assessment for each of their premises, which includes risk mitigation related to crime and anti-social behaviour. Additionally, schemes such as Betwatch, a community-based crime prevention scheme, are designed to tackle localised anti-social and criminal behaviour in and around betting shops.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support schools to (a) identify and (b) manage risks related to children and young people accessing gambling content through (i) websites, (ii) apps and (iii) social media.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department is committed to helping schools in England protect pupils from online harms, including gambling content accessed via websites, apps, and social media.
The ‘keeping children safe in education’ guidance makes clear that schools and colleges should ensure appropriate filtering and monitoring systems are in place and their effectiveness is regularly reviewed. This limits children's exposure to harmful content, including gambling, while on school-managed computers.
To help schools meet their safeguarding obligations, the department has published filtering and monitoring standards. These standards set out how schools can effectively assign roles and responsibilities, review filtering and monitoring annually, block harmful illegal and inappropriate content, and implement monitoring strategies.
Online safety is also embedded in the curriculum through relationships, sex and health education, where pupils are taught about the risks of harmful online behaviours, including gambling.
The department continues to share best practice with counterparts across the UK.
Asked by: Kirith Entwistle (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling adverts on people living in Bolton North East constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Gambling adverts can appear across a significant range of channels from out of home billboards and social media, to complex dynamic or targeted adverts online. As such, the Department does not hold data on the number of gambling adverts published.
This government recognises that while advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over unlicensed gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation. There are existing robust rules and regulations in place to ensure that advertising and marketing, whenever it appears, is socially responsible.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Kirith Entwistle (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the number of gambling adverts on people living in Bolton North East constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Gambling adverts can appear across a significant range of channels from out of home billboards and social media, to complex dynamic or targeted adverts online. As such, the Department does not hold data on the number of gambling adverts published.
This government recognises that while advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over unlicensed gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation. There are existing robust rules and regulations in place to ensure that advertising and marketing, whenever it appears, is socially responsible.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Kirith Entwistle (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many gambling adverts were published in each year from 2019 to 2025.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Gambling adverts can appear across a significant range of channels from out of home billboards and social media, to complex dynamic or targeted adverts online. As such, the Department does not hold data on the number of gambling adverts published.
This government recognises that while advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over unlicensed gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation. There are existing robust rules and regulations in place to ensure that advertising and marketing, whenever it appears, is socially responsible.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to introduce (a) identity checks and (b) spending limits for crypto betting.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There are currently no licensed gambling operators in Great Britain which allow payment using cryptocurrencies. If an operator wished to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, they would have to satisfy themselves and the Gambling Commission, the regulator for gambling in Great Britain, that they could meet their obligations regarding anti-money laundering before they notify the Gambling Commission of a change to their payment arrangements or obtain a licence. Should a licenced operator accept cryptocurrency payments they would be subject to social responsibility arrangements, like any other operator, these include having robust identity checks, providing tools for customers to set financial limits, and conducting financial risk checks for the most vulnerable customers.
Asked by: Satvir Kaur (Labour - Southampton Test)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling premises on (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) other crime.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Those experiencing gambling-related harm in England can access specialist treatment through specialist NHS Gambling Clinics available in every region of the country, including the Southern Gambling Service. There is also a range of support through the National Gambling Support Network.
The Government has introduced a statutory levy on gambling operators to improve and expand the research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms. This will include ringfenced funding overseen by NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission the full treatment pathway, from referral and triage through to aftercare. We will continue to work with NHS England in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh governments, as well as third sector providers, to design and deliver our approach to treatment of gambling-related harms across Great Britain.
Licensing authorities are able to set conditions on premises to mitigate risks posed by anti-social behaviour and crime. This can include imposing enhanced security requirements which take into account risks from their local area profiles. Premises licence holders must also conduct a local area risk assessment for each of their premises which includes risk mitigation around crime and anti-social behaviour. The local area risk assessment is subject to inspection by the licensing authority. There are also schemes such as Betwatch, a community-based crime prevention scheme between the Gambling Commission, the police, local council, and gambling premises, which is designed to tackle localised anti-social and criminal behaviour in and around betting shops.
Asked by: Satvir Kaur (Labour - Southampton Test)
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 help tackle gambling harms (a) nationally and (b) in Southampton Test constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Those experiencing gambling-related harm in England can access specialist treatment through specialist NHS Gambling Clinics available in every region of the country, including the Southern Gambling Service. There is also a range of support through the National Gambling Support Network.
The Government has introduced a statutory levy on gambling operators to improve and expand the research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms. This will include ringfenced funding overseen by NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission the full treatment pathway, from referral and triage through to aftercare. We will continue to work with NHS England in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh governments, as well as third sector providers, to design and deliver our approach to treatment of gambling-related harms across Great Britain.
Licensing authorities are able to set conditions on premises to mitigate risks posed by anti-social behaviour and crime. This can include imposing enhanced security requirements which take into account risks from their local area profiles. Premises licence holders must also conduct a local area risk assessment for each of their premises which includes risk mitigation around crime and anti-social behaviour. The local area risk assessment is subject to inspection by the licensing authority. There are also schemes such as Betwatch, a community-based crime prevention scheme between the Gambling Commission, the police, local council, and gambling premises, which is designed to tackle localised anti-social and criminal behaviour in and around betting shops.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the gambling industry’s spending on advertising, sponsorship and marketing, including online forms of advertising and marketing such as content marketing.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to GambleAware’s research in 2017, the total advertising and marketing spend by gambling companies totalled £1.5 billion, of which:
£747 million was spent on online advertising and direct marketing
£234 million on TV advertising
£149 million on social media advertising
£60 million on sponsorship
£301 million on advertising through market affiliates
£70 million on other offline advertising
There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. Gambling adverts cannot be targeted at children and cannot be of ‘strong appeal’ to children, for example they cannot feature Premier League footballers and celebrities popular with children.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.