Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to publish the Gambling Review white paper.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Gambling Act Review is wide-ranging and aims to ensure that gambling regulation is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Gambling Review White Paper will be published.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Gambling Act Review is wide-ranging and aims to ensure gambling regulation is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of recognising gambling as a public health issue; and what steps is he taking to address the relationship between gambling and suicide.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government remains committed to tackling gambling-related harms and prioritising gambling as a public health issue. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the lead Government department responsible for gambling policy, is currently leading a review of the Gambling Act (2005). The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with DCMS to strengthen the current public health approach, including encouraging actions to prevent harms from arising in the first place.
To address the relationship between gambling and suicide, we are focused on ensuring those experiencing harms are able to access the right treatment and support in a timely manner. NHS England remain on track to deliver against their Long Term Plan commitment to create 15 specialist gambling treatment clinics by 2023/24. As at time of writing, there are now eight of these clinics in operation across England.
On 24 January 2023, we announced that we will publish a new National Suicide Prevention Strategy later this year. As part of the development of the strategy, we will consider the changing pattern of risk of suicide associated with issues such as harmful gambling and the Department will engage with key stakeholders, across both the gambling and health sector, during this process.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made on the potential role of open banking technology in helping to tackle problem online gambling.
Answered by Paul Scully
The government is exploring how technology and data can be harnessed in a number of areas to better prevent harmful gambling online. We are reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 and will publish our white paper in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
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 including a complete ban on gambling marketing communications for consumers who have self-excluded or registered with GAMSTOP within forthcoming regulatory changes to the Gambling Act 2005.
Answered by Paul Scully
As a condition of their Gambling Commission licences, all operators must offer self-exclusion procedures for customers, with online operators also required to take part in the GAMSTOP multi-operator self-exclusion scheme. As part of the self-exclusion process, licensees must take all reasonable steps to prevent marketing materials being sent to any self-excluded individual, including removing their details from any marketing database within two days of receiving notice of self-exclusion. If a customer has registered with GAMSTOP, all operators are expected to remove them from marketing lists. Operators who fail to comply with self-exclusion requirements are subject to enforcement action from the Gambling Commission.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of gambling shops on high streets in London in each the last 5 years.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Gambling Commission records data on premises numbers at a national rather than a local level. In March 2022 its Industry Statistics recorded 6,219 Licensed Betting Shops and 1,285 Adult Gaming Centres in Great Britain and the figures for each reporting period since 2017 are detailed in the table below.
Reporting Period | Adult Gaming Centres | Licensed Betting Shops |
31/03/2017 | 1,548 | 8,800 |
31/03/2018 | 1,481 | 8,559 |
31/03/2019 | 1,464 | 8,304 |
31/03/2020 (revised figures) | 1,464 | 7,683 |
31/03/2021(revised figures) | 1,381 | 6,462 |
31/03/2022 (provisional figures) | 1,285 | 6,219 |
Each Local Authority is required to have a current list of all licensed gambling premises available to access on request under section 156 of the Gambling Act.
Our review of the Gambling Act 2005 is looking at the situation of the land-based gambling industry as part of its wide-ranging scope. A White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps will be published in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with the BBC Board on seeking to ensure that BBC presenters do not appear in gambling advertisements on commercial channels.
Answered by Paul Scully
Broadcasters have discretion over how advertising breaks are set and what adverts are broadcast, as long as they comply with the advertising codes of practice issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), which are enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). These codes set rules such as preventing gambling adverts from airing around any programmes that particularly appeal to children. All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority and Ofcom.
The gambling industry’s own Code for Socially Responsible Advertising also includes restrictions on televised advertising, such as a ban on showing most forms of gambling advertising before 9 pm, and the ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban preventing betting ads from airing during and immediately before and after live sporting events.
The Committee of Advertising Practice has recently made changes to the advertising codes in response to research on features of advertising that appeal to children and vulnerable people. These include banning content that over-emphasises skill or downplays risk involved in betting, as well as the use of content or persons who have ‘strong appeal’ to children, such as influencers or top-flight footballers. The Code in relation to broadcast advertising can be found here: https://www.asa.org.uk/type/broadcast/code_section/17.html
The government has not engaged with the BBC on the subject of its presenters appearing in gambling advertisements. The BBC is independent from the government and any additional rules or guidelines specifically for BBC staff would be a matter for the BBC to decide.
The government is currently reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the Gambling Act Review will look at the impacts of advertising and marketing by gambling operators, wherever it appears. We will publish a White Paper outlining our conclusions in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will take steps to reduce the number of gambling advertisements on television.
Answered by Paul Scully
Broadcasters have discretion over how advertising breaks are set and what adverts are broadcast, as long as they comply with the advertising codes of practice issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), which are enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). These codes set rules such as preventing gambling adverts from airing around any programmes that particularly appeal to children. All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority and Ofcom.
The gambling industry’s own Code for Socially Responsible Advertising also includes restrictions on televised advertising, such as a ban on showing most forms of gambling advertising before 9 pm, and the ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban preventing betting ads from airing during and immediately before and after live sporting events.
The Committee of Advertising Practice has recently made changes to the advertising codes in response to research on features of advertising that appeal to children and vulnerable people. These include banning content that over-emphasises skill or downplays risk involved in betting, as well as the use of content or persons who have ‘strong appeal’ to children, such as influencers or top-flight footballers. The Code in relation to broadcast advertising can be found here: https://www.asa.org.uk/type/broadcast/code_section/17.html
The government has not engaged with the BBC on the subject of its presenters appearing in gambling advertisements. The BBC is independent from the government and any additional rules or guidelines specifically for BBC staff would be a matter for the BBC to decide.
The government is currently reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the Gambling Act Review will look at the impacts of advertising and marketing by gambling operators, wherever it appears. We will publish a White Paper outlining our conclusions in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the Gambling Act White Paper.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Gambling Act Review is wide-ranging and aims to ensure regulation is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out our vision and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the amount of regulations governing prize draws compared to those regulating (a) charity lotteries and (b) the National Lottery.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are aware of concerns, including those raised by the DCMS Select Committee in its recent report What next for the National Lottery?, about the different approaches to society lotteries (regulated under the Gambling Act 2005) and prize draws (which are not). The Gambling Act 2005 generally defines a lottery as requiring payment to participate, an outcome determined wholly by chance, and the allocation of prizes. Large society lotteries operate under a licence issued by the Gambling Commission. There are limits on ticket sales and prizes and a minimum return to good causes. The National Lottery, with its unique status, has its own separate legal framework under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993.
Prize draws may resemble lotteries but not meet the Gambling Act 2005 definition of a lottery because there is a free entry route or because there is an element of skill involved. Where prize draws do not meet the definition of a lottery, they are not considered gambling under the Gambling Act 2005 and the Gambling Commission has no regulatory responsibilities for them. It does however monitor the boundary between them and society lotteries to ensure that products are regulated when required by the Act.
We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age, and will publish a white paper setting out our conclusions in the coming weeks. We are also carefully considering the Select Committee’s recommendation and will respond in due course.