Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Lancet article entitled Policies and interventions to reduce harmful gambling: an international Delphi consensus and implementation rating study, published in August 2022, whether she has made an assessment of that article's findings that there should be a universal ban on all gambling marketing, advertising, and promotions.
Answered by Paul Scully
Public Health England commissioned the Delphi study in question alongside their independent review of the evidence on gambling-related harms. As is protocol for studies of this kind, the participants have been kept anonymous but the Commission has not provided any formal advice or notification to the Department on the report’s content or recommendations. DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling.
Issues around the advertising and marketing of gambling and the rules governing land-based gambling form part of the broad scope of the government's Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We are closely considering all evidence on these and other topics, and will set out our conclusions and proposals for reform in a white paper to be published in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Gambling Commission was involved the study published in the Lancet entitled Policies and interventions to reduce harmful gambling: an international Delphi consensus and implementation rating study, published in August 2022, including the proposal for a universal ban on all gambling marketing, advertising, and promotions.
Answered by Paul Scully
Public Health England commissioned the Delphi study in question alongside their independent review of the evidence on gambling-related harms. As is protocol for studies of this kind, the participants have been kept anonymous but the Commission has not provided any formal advice or notification to the Department on the report’s content or recommendations. DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling.
Issues around the advertising and marketing of gambling and the rules governing land-based gambling form part of the broad scope of the government's Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We are closely considering all evidence on these and other topics, and will set out our conclusions and proposals for reform in a white paper to be published in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2022 to Question HL2267 on Gambling Act 2005 Review, what her Department's timescale is for publishing their response to their review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Answered by Damian Collins
The Gambling Act Review is a wide-ranging and comprehensive look at gambling legislation and regulation in Great Britain to make sure it is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White paper setting out our vision for the sector in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential economic impact of reducing the licensing requirements on casinos.
Answered by Damian Collins
The Government is conducting a wide-ranging and evidence-led Review of the Gambling Act 2005. This includes consideration of the legislative landscape for casinos, in particular the distinction between the new style casinos allowed by the 2005 Act and the majority of casinos whose licences align with provisions originating in the Gambling Act 1968. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in due course and appropriate consideration of impacts will be made at all stages.
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 when they will publish their response to their review of the Gambling Act 2005, which ran from 8 December 2020 to 31 March 2021.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Gambling Act Review was launched with the publication of a wide-ranging Call for Evidence, which closed in March 2021 and received over 16,000 responses. We will publish a white paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take in response to the recommendations set out in the ‘Prevention of Future Deaths Report’ issued after the inquest of Jack Ritchie, published on 7 March.
Answered by Lord Kamall
In May 2022, the Government published its response to the Coroner's Prevention of Future Deaths report following the inquest into the death of Jack Ritchie. A copy of the Government’s response is attached.
This confirmed the Government’s commitment to addressing gambling-related harms and prioritising gambling as a public health issue. We will improve the awareness and understanding of gambling-related harms amongst healthcare professions as well as expanding and improving specialist treatment services available for people with a gambling addiction. We have also committed to assess current gambling regulation through the Review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether loot boxes are (1) games of chance, and (2) capable of being exchanged for real money.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the link between loot boxes and problem gambling.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase monitoring of third-party websites that enable the trading of loot box items.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regarding support and specialist treatment services available for those with gambling addictions.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Ministers have held discussions on the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 and on support and specialist treatment services available for those experiencing gambling-related harm.