Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent betting companies from being sponsors of Premier League football clubs.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is looking closely at the evidence regarding the impacts of sports sponsorship by gambling operators, including in the Premier League, as part of the wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of offering sporting bodies sports betting rights, where gambling companies can be charged a fee for the right to use sporting content and to offer bets on sporting competitions.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government currently has no plans to introduce a requirement for gambling operators to pay a fee or levy to sporting bodies. We are fully supportive of the Horserace Betting Levy, which recognises the symbiotic relationship between horseracing and gambling. This unique relationship is not replicated in other sports, which have a broader appeal beyond gambling. However, we recognise that gambling contributes to the funding of sports by way of media rights, advertising and sponsorship.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote and (b) help protect Greyhound racing.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In January 2019 the government announced an increased funding commitment from bookmakers to support the Greyhound Board of Great Britain’s (GBGB) efforts to improve welfare, and since 2021 every member of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) who offers bets on greyhound racing has contributed to the British Racing Greyhound Fund. The BGC represents approximately 90% of the UK’s licensed betting and gaming businesses.
The Government is also aware of the impact of Covid on greyhound racing and a preliminary allocation of £1.4m in loans was made available from the Sports Survival Package to help mitigate it. Greyhound racing has also been eligible to access pan-economy support provided by the government including the business rates holiday for leisure industry businesses, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made on the potential effect of Esports Betting on gambling-related harm.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We continue to work with the video games industry, other government departments, and relevant regulatory bodies to ensure games are enjoyed safely. We launched a call for evidence in September to understand players’ experiences with loot boxes and to examine evidence of potential harms. This received over 30,000 responses and we have been working to evaluate fully the evidence gathered. The response will be published in the coming months and will set out preferred actions and potential solutions to any issues identified from the evidence.
The government regularly engages with the Gambling Commission and other bodies to discuss emerging trends, including esports betting. Esports betting is regulated with the same protections as any other sports, and operators must abide by the same regulation and license conditions.
Data from the Gambling Commission’s quarterly surveys shows that in the year to December 2020 9% of adults reported they had ever bet on esports with money or items. Further details can be found at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/taking-a-more-in-depth-look-at-online-gambling#ref-4 The government does not collect statistics on the player base of people opening loot boxes, playing social casino games or accessing twitch gaming streams.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) the Gambling Commission, and (b) gaming operators on the development of Esports Betting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We continue to work with the video games industry, other government departments, and relevant regulatory bodies to ensure games are enjoyed safely. We launched a call for evidence in September to understand players’ experiences with loot boxes and to examine evidence of potential harms. This received over 30,000 responses and we have been working to evaluate fully the evidence gathered. The response will be published in the coming months and will set out preferred actions and potential solutions to any issues identified from the evidence.
The government regularly engages with the Gambling Commission and other bodies to discuss emerging trends, including esports betting. Esports betting is regulated with the same protections as any other sports, and operators must abide by the same regulation and license conditions.
Data from the Gambling Commission’s quarterly surveys shows that in the year to December 2020 9% of adults reported they had ever bet on esports with money or items. Further details can be found at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/taking-a-more-in-depth-look-at-online-gambling#ref-4 The government does not collect statistics on the player base of people opening loot boxes, playing social casino games or accessing twitch gaming streams.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data and research he has on the player base of people playing (a) loot boxes, (b) social casinos, (c) twitch gaming and (d) e-sports betting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We continue to work with the video games industry, other government departments, and relevant regulatory bodies to ensure games are enjoyed safely. We launched a call for evidence in September to understand players’ experiences with loot boxes and to examine evidence of potential harms. This received over 30,000 responses and we have been working to evaluate fully the evidence gathered. The response will be published in the coming months and will set out preferred actions and potential solutions to any issues identified from the evidence.
The government regularly engages with the Gambling Commission and other bodies to discuss emerging trends, including esports betting. Esports betting is regulated with the same protections as any other sports, and operators must abide by the same regulation and license conditions.
Data from the Gambling Commission’s quarterly surveys shows that in the year to December 2020 9% of adults reported they had ever bet on esports with money or items. Further details can be found at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/taking-a-more-in-depth-look-at-online-gambling#ref-4 The government does not collect statistics on the player base of people opening loot boxes, playing social casino games or accessing twitch gaming streams.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of advertisements by gambling operators that will be aired before 9pm during the 2021 UEFA European Championship.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has not made an estimate of the number of advertisements by gambling operators that will be aired before 9pm during the 2021 UEFA European Championship. Broadcasters have discretion over how advertising breaks are set and what adverts are broadcast, in line with Ofcom and ASA standards. In addition, the Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising includes a whistle to whistle ban that also prohibits adverts for betting being shown during live sports broadcast before the 9pm watershed. Subject to these rules, the volume of adverts depends on the commercial arrangements put in place between the gambling operators and the broadcasters. All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement.
Gambling adverts must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. The Advertising Standards Authority independently administers these standards through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) which covers online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV. If an advert for gambling holds particular appeal to children and is freely accessible then it will break the rules.
The government launched the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. This closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise and we are considering the evidence carefully.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of suspending advertisements by gambling operators during the 2021 UEFA European Championship.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has not made an estimate of the number of advertisements by gambling operators that will be aired before 9pm during the 2021 UEFA European Championship. Broadcasters have discretion over how advertising breaks are set and what adverts are broadcast, in line with Ofcom and ASA standards. In addition, the Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising includes a whistle to whistle ban that also prohibits adverts for betting being shown during live sports broadcast before the 9pm watershed. Subject to these rules, the volume of adverts depends on the commercial arrangements put in place between the gambling operators and the broadcasters. All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement.
Gambling adverts must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. The Advertising Standards Authority independently administers these standards through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) which covers online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV. If an advert for gambling holds particular appeal to children and is freely accessible then it will break the rules.
The government launched the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. This closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise and we are considering the evidence carefully.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what directions he has issued to the Advertising Standards Authority on limiting the number of children that are exposed to gambling advertising.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Advertising Standards Authority is an independent body. The Government works closely with them across a wide range of areas, including gambling advertising.
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Adverts must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. The Advertising Standards Authority independently administers these standards through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) which covers online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV. If an advert for gambling holds particular appeal to children and is freely accessible then it will break the rules.
The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) recently concluded a consultation on proposals to amend their advertising codes to further limit the potential for gambling adverts to appeal to children. The broadcast advertising codes make clear that adverts for commercial gambling must not be shown during or adjacent to television programmes directed at or likely to appeal particularly to children.
The Industry Code for Socially Responsible Gambling Advertising also prohibits gambling advertising on television before 9pm, except for adverts promoting bingo or lotteries, and sports betting in limited circumstances (not immediately around or during live sport).
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much Government funding has been awarded to the racing industry to support race horse welfare and race horse upkeep during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Whittingdale
On 17 April 2020, the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) and Racing Foundation agreed an immediate cash flow and hardship support package to support racing, of which HBLB contributed £20m and the Racing Foundation £8m. The Racing Foundation’s funding supported participants such as jockeys and trainers directly, while the HBLB provided grants and capital loans to courses. HBLB has also increased its contributions to prize money by 50% during the pandemic to mitigate lower amounts made available by courses due to Covid. As well as funding welfare projects directly, HBLB’s contributions to prize money enable the industry to maintain fixture lists and field sizes, which in turn facilitates investment in equine welfare.
On 19 November 2020 the Government announced a rescue package worth £300 million to help major spectator sports including horse racing which were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. As a summer sport, horse racing is also expected to benefit from a further £300m for the recovery package across all sports including horseracing that was announced in the recent budget.