Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether consumer credit affordability and creditworthiness checks adequately prevent people with high levels of debt and known gambling-related financial risks from obtaining additional credit cards; and what steps she is taking with the Financial Conduct Authority to strengthen safeguards.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Lenders offering credit are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This oversight ensures that lending practices are fair and that consumers are protected – firms regulated by the FCA must comply with its strict lending affordability rules, lending only to those who can afford repayments based on a thorough assessment of their financial situation. Under the FCA’s Consumer Duty, firms are required to take steps to identify and respond to signs of vulnerability, support customers to disclose their needs, and make them aware of available assistance.
The Government is committed to supporting people who are experiencing problem debt. Through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), the Government funds a range of national and community-based debt advice services in England, so households can access the specialist support they need to get their finances back on track.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the economic risks, (2) social impacts, and (3) costs, of prediction markets; and what consideration have they given to further regulation or restriction of such systems.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In order to operate in Great Britain, any prediction market would require a licence from the Gambling Commission, the independent regulator for gambling. If approved, they would be classified as a ‘Betting Intermediary’ and subject to regulation under the Gambling Act 2005. We will monitor the potential impacts of prediction markets and consider further action if needed.
Asked by: Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent underage access to gambling via loot boxes, skin betting and other third party markets linked to video games.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone, including children.
Prizes that can be won via loot boxes do not have a monetary value, cannot be cashed-out, and are of value only within the context of the game. They are therefore not legally classified as gambling. However, where products do amount to unlicensed gambling, such as unlicensed skin betting, the Gambling Commission has shown that it will take swift enforcement action. There are currently no licensed gambling operators which offer skin betting.
In July 2023 the video game industry published new loot box principles to improve protections for players. Following a 12-month implementation period, the government commissioned independent academic research to assess the effectiveness of this guidance. We have engaged relevant government departments and regulators to consider the research. We will publish the report and set out our next steps in the near future..
Asked by: Lord Butler of Brockwell (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Twycross on Thursday 15 January (Hansard: HL Deb col 183), when they expect to publish the report on industry-led guidance on loot boxes.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, there are appropriate protections in place for players of all ages.
To improve those protections, industry-led guidance was published in 2023 with a 12-month implementation period after which DCMS commissioned independent academic research into its effectiveness. We will publish the research in the near future, alongside our next steps.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of Local Authorities commissioning gambling harms prevention; and of their capacity to do so.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In April 2025, the statutory gambling levy came into effect to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm across Great Britain. In its first year, the levy has raised nearly £120 million, with 30% allocated to gambling harms prevention activity.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, responsible for the implementation and oversight of the gambling levy, remains confident that levy commissioners are best placed to make decisions on the future of their work programmes regarding the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms.
As prevention commissioners, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in England and Scottish and Welsh Governments continue to work collaboratively on the development of their respective work programmes, drawing on expertise from across the system. OHID will employ a ‘test and learn’ approach as they transition to the new levy system, to better-understand what interventions are most effective in preventing gambling harms at a local, regional and national level.
Local authorities are well placed to play a central role in preventing gambling‑related harms across local communities. An OHID-led stocktake of local authority activity in this space indicated that whilst some activity is already underway, there is appetite within local authorities to do more.
OHID is developing a fund for all upper-tier local authorities across England, which will aim to strengthen local capacity to tackle gambling‑related harm by facilitating improved understanding of local need and supporting the development of effective local and regional networks. This will be delivered alongside the Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) grant fund which will fund VCSE organisations to deliver prevention activity across England from April 2026 to March 2028.
Asked by: Lord Butler of Brockwell (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor the impact of the ban on mixed-product promotional offers and the cap on bonus wagering requirements on high-risk gambling behaviour.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to strengthening protections for those at risk of gambling harm. We continue to monitor the best available evidence that assesses the impact of consumer protection measures when making future policy decisions.
Alongside monitoring the best available evidence, we have commissioned a robust evaluation of a subset of the measures introduced through the Gambling Act Review, including socially responsible incentives. We expect the findings of that evaluation to be published by the end of this year. This work will be supported by the statutory gambling levy, which directs 20% of its funding toward independent research to fill critical gaps in the evidence base. This will also include a proportion of funding for the Gambling Commission to direct further research in line with the licensing objectives.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in youth gambling participation, including the rise in unregulated gambling reported in the Young People and Gambling Survey 2025; and what further protections they will put in place for those aged 11–17.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Young People and Gambling Survey 2025 identified an increase in youth participation in gambling from 27% to 30% compared to the previous year. This appears to have been driven by an increase in unregulated betting, such as between friends and family (from 15% to 18%).
As part of the gambling statutory levy, we have committed 20% to gambling harm research, which may include assessments of youth gambling participation. This is alongside 30% of levy funding for prevention activities, commissioned by the Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities (OHID), which may include education or awareness raising programmes to help protect those aged 11-17 from gambling related harm. We will continue to monitor the best available evidence when considering possible policy interventions under regulations as set out in the Gambling Act 2005.
Asked by: Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the impact of gambling sponsorship in sport on young people; and whether they plan to further restrict that sponsorship.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to strengthening protections to protect young people from gambling-related harm. We are clear that wherever gambling advertising and sponsorship appears, it must be socially responsible. All major sports have published their gambling sponsorship Codes of Conduct which sets minimum standards for gambling sponsorships to ensure these arrangements are socially responsible. Additionally, the Premier League’s decision to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling firms will start at the beginning of the 2026/27 season.
We are working closely with sports bodies to review the implementation and impact of the Codes of Conduct to ensure they have meaningful impact and to inform the most appropriate next steps for gambling sponsorship.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of betting shops on town centre vitality.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Some high streets have become increasingly dominated by certain types of premises – including gambling establishments – which don’t always meet the needs of their communities. According to the Gambling Commission, the number of adult gaming centres (AGCs) rose by 7% between 2022 and 2024, with additional data showing that AGCs are most concentrated in areas of higher deprivation.
My Department will take action to tackle the number of gambling premises in vulnerable areas by introducing Cumulative Impact Assessments in gambling licensing when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking help improve addiction and mental health treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that people with co-occurring substance use and mental health needs do not receive the integrated, person-centred care they require and deserve. The Department and NHS England have recently published the Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Delivery framework, which is available at the following link:
This framework commits the Department and NHS England to delivering several national actions to improve delivery of integrated, person-centred care across drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services. The framework also includes recommended actions on how the health system can also work together to improve outcomes for those with co-occurring needs.
We also know that gambling can have a wide-ranging negative effect on health and inequalities and is associated with poor mental health and in severe cases suicide, as well as the knock-on impacts from gambling related debt. In April 2025, the statutory gambling levy came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm across Great Britain. In its first year, the levy has raised nearly £120 million, with 50% allocated to gambling harms treatment activity across Great Britain.
Lastly, rates of smoking continue to fall in the general population, although inequality remains, with higher rates of smoking in other groups such as people with a mental health condition or people in routine and manual work. Stop Smoking Services are effective in reaching high-prevalence groups. By targeting support in populations with greater need, we want to secure a smoke-free generation together, where no one is left behind.