Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to update regulations on payment methods for amusement machines.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Direct use of debit cards and credit cards is currently prohibited on all gaming machines in Great Britain. The previous Government’s 2023 gambling white paper proposed removing the prohibition on the direct use of debit cards on gaming machines, subject to the introduction of certain player protections. While this proposal was not implemented under the previous administration, this government is considering the best available evidence from a wide range of stakeholders to inform any decisions on this proposal, which would require new legislation to implement.
In addition, the Gambling Commission recently consulted on proposals to introduce a number of new player protections for gaming machines in Great Britain, designed to support and empower customers to use gaming machines safely. The Government will take account of the progress and outcome of this consultation when considering regulations on payment methods for gaming machines.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Minister for Gambling plans to respond to the correspondence of 24 March 2025 from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove, Ref LS04145.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS did not receive the Hon Member’s letter until her office was contacted on 23 July, on receipt of this question. Baroness Twycross replied via return letter, with reference MC2025/07636/GT, on 26 August. We apologise for the delay.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
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 increasing the tax rate paid by bookmakers to align it with the online gaming tax rate on Huntingdon Racecourse.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Future proposals on Gambling Duties are a matter for HMT, should legislative changes come about following this consultation, we expect them to be accompanied by tax and impact notes from HMT, as is standard practice.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations she has made to the Treasury on (a) taxation levels and (b) regulatory burdens within the gambling industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers and officials regularly engage with counterparts in HM Treasury about gambling duties. DCMS has shared information with HM Treasury relating to the wider regulatory context for the gambling industry, including recent regulatory changes resulting from the white paper.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of harmonising gambling tax rates on the horseracing industry.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government consultation on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one closed on 21 July 2025. Responses are now being analysed and a response to the consultation will be published at Autumn Budget 2025.
If any changes are made to gambling duties at a future Budget following the consultation, they will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to address regulatory failings highlighted in the independent review by Malcolm Sheehan KC concerning the collapse of football index.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Independent Review announced by the previous Government and conducted by Malcom Sheehan KC made a number of recommendations for the Gambling Commission and Financial Conduct Authority, both of which are independent of Government. All recommendations of the report have since been implemented.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will be responsible for commissioning gambling harm treatment services in relation to the portion of the Gambling Levy allocated for treatment; and what role his Department expects that NHS England will have in the commissioning of gambling harm treatment services in the long term.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the new statutory levy on gambling operators which came into effect in April, NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales are the commissioners for gambling-related harm treatment and support services. They will receive 50% of available levy funding to improve and expand treatment services across Great Britain.
NHS England continues to lead work on the future design of treatment and support services in England, working closely with the other levy commissioners to ensure a co-ordinated approach to addressing gambling-related harms.
The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work closely with NHS England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to fully consider the implications of the NHS England transformation announcement on the future statutory levy commissioning structure.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the (a) commissioning and (b) funding model for gambling harm treatment services is structured across England; and whether he plans to issue a Letter of Comfort to Providers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
At present, NHS England provides ringfenced funding to the integrated care boards for the commissioning of eight regional gambling harms services in England. The majority of other gambling harms treatment services in England, largely provided by the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector, are commissioned by GambleAware until 31 March 2026.
The new statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect in April 2025. Under the levy, NHS England, and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, are the commissioners for gambling-related harm treatment and support services. They will receive 50% of available levy funding to improve and expand treatment services across Great Britain.
From 1 April 2026, NHS England will be taking on responsibility for the commissioning of the full gambling harms treatment pathway in England, from referral and triage through to aftercare. All services will be funded by the new levy, which will be ringfenced for services to reduce gambling harms. NHS England is currently working at pace to confirm future commissioning arrangements and aims to provide all stakeholders with an update in the autumn.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of taxation paid by the gambling industry.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government committed in its manifesto to reducing gambling-related harms, but addressing harm is not the primary purpose of the gambling duty system. Nevertheless, we will remain mindful of any potential impact on problem gamblers in the event we make any change to gambling taxes following the recently closed consultation.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Statutory levy and online slot stake limits to be introduced to tackle gambling harm, published on 27 November 2024, what steps she is taking to ensure gambling companies accurately verify gamblers’ ages when enforcing stake limits for online slots.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Online stake limits have been set at £5 per spin for adults aged 25 and over since April of this year, and £2 per spin for 18-24 year olds since May.
All gambling operators offering gambling services to people in Great Britain must have a licence from the Gambling Commission, the independent regulator for gambling in Great Britain. The Gambling Commission requires all operators to complete age and identity verification before a customer can deposit money and gamble. As such, the Gambling Commission is responsible for verifying that operators are applying online slot stake limits correctly.