Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 to fund NHS early-intervention services for children exhibiting gambling-related harm.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England currently funds a national service for children aged 13 years old and over who are experiencing gambling-related harms. This service is provided by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, and is available to children across England. The core treatment offer of this service includes cognitive behavioural therapy, delivered either individually or in age-appropriate groups, and family therapy. NHS England plans to design and begin an evaluation of this service in 2026/27, which will ultimately inform the longer-term commissioning approach.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to end the use of promotional offers by gambling companies that may increase gambling-related harm.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of the Gambling Commission’s licence conditions, all gambling operators in the UK must comply with advertising codes enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority independently of the government. These advertising codes contain a range of measures which are designed to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm.
The Gambling Commission have also introduced further restrictions to ensure that bonuses are constructed in a responsible way which does not encourage harmful gambling. Since January 2026, operators have been banned from cross-marketing more than one gambling product within one incentive. This measure further raises standards to ensure that advertising does not encourage excessive and harmful gambling.
We will continue to monitor the best available evidence that assesses the impact of consumer protection measures when making future policy decisions.
Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that research, education and treatment funded through the gambling levy are independent of influence by bodies in the gambling industry.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises that trust in and independence of the levy system are crucial. We have appointed expert public bodies to lead on research, prevention and treatment of gambling related harm. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and NHS England, together with appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, are responsible for day-to-day levy spending. These bodies have set up their own governance arrangements and conflict of interest policies to ensure these decisions are independent of industry and led by the evidence of what works.
Furthermore, the Gambling Levy Programme Board oversees the statutory levy system to ensure that funding is being spent appropriately and efficiently. The Terms of Reference for the Board can be found on GOV.UK.
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, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 March (HL15103), which gambling operators reported regulatory investigations or findings into other activities in other jurisdictions in (1) 2021–22, (2) 2022–23, (3) 2023–24, and (4) 2024–25.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested relating to gambling operators and their overseas operators could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain. It is for operators to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions and for authorities in those jurisdictions to investigate if they are not.
The compliance with legal requirements in overseas jurisdictions is a question for the respective judicial authorities to investigate if operators are not compliant. Where a licensee is found to be operating illegally, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence to offer gambling services in Great Britain.
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, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 March (HL15103), which gambling operators have been found to be operating illegally since 2020; and whether the licences of those operators to offer gambling services in Britain have been withdrawn.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested relating to gambling operators and their overseas operators could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain. It is for operators to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions and for authorities in those jurisdictions to investigate if they are not.
The compliance with legal requirements in overseas jurisdictions is a question for the respective judicial authorities to investigate if operators are not compliant. Where a licensee is found to be operating illegally, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence to offer gambling services in Great Britain.
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, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 March (HL15103), which gambling operators have substantial customer bases outside of Britain; and in which jurisdictions those customer bases are.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested relating to gambling operators and their overseas operators could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain. It is for operators to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions and for authorities in those jurisdictions to investigate if they are not.
The compliance with legal requirements in overseas jurisdictions is a question for the respective judicial authorities to investigate if operators are not compliant. Where a licensee is found to be operating illegally, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence to offer gambling services in Great Britain.
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, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 March (HL15103), what criteria they expect gambling operators to use to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested relating to gambling operators and their overseas operators could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain. It is for operators to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions and for authorities in those jurisdictions to investigate if they are not.
The compliance with legal requirements in overseas jurisdictions is a question for the respective judicial authorities to investigate if operators are not compliant. Where a licensee is found to be operating illegally, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence to offer gambling services in Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to require lotteries that allow an unlimited number of people to subscribe for a chance to win a stated prize to publish the total amount subscribed by gamblers and the stated value of the prize, for each of their three previous similar lotteries; and to limit the amount that can be subscribed.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating society lotteries and Local Authority lotteries under the Gambling Act 2005.
Society lotteries licensed by the Commission are required to publish information about their lotteries, including a breakdown (estimated or actual) of how they use proceeds. The Commission also outlines regulatory expectations for society lotteries, including ensuring information on prizes available to enable consumers to make an informed choice to participate in a lottery. This includes how proceeds are used, the likelihood of winning a prize, and how prizes are allocated.
Under the Gambling Act 2005, all society lotteries, whether subscription-based or those selling tickets for individual draws, are subject to per draw and annual sales limits.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to betting and gaming levies on illegal gambling operations.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The issue of illegal gambling is a concern for this Government. We are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed.
As part of the 2025 Budget, the Treasury announced that the Gambling Commission will receive an additional £26 million across three years to increase investment, resources and capacity to tackle the illegal market. The government has also launched the Illegal Gambling Taskforce which brings together a wide range of stakeholders to take action against the illegal market.
We will continue to engage with the sector and the Gambling Commission to understand any impacts of duty changes.
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, further to the findings of Raffaello Rossi, Edoardo Tozzi and Agnes Nairn published in Psychology and Marketing on 7 March, what assessment they have made of the adequacy of gambling protections for children, including the extent to which gambling content marketing is (1) appealing to children, (2) obviously identifiable as advertising, and (3) effectively countered by currently used educational interventions.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government notes the findings of Raffaello Rossi, Edoardo Tozzi and Agnes Nairn published in Psychology and Marketing on 7 March. We remain committed to protecting children and young people from gambling related harm.
Operators must ensure that advertising is not targeted at children. In October 2025, the Advertising Standards Authority updated their guidance to rule that personalities or influencers with under-18s social media followings totalling at least 100,000 across all platforms is indicative of strong appeal to children and young people, and gambling advertisements cannot be promoted through these channels. We continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders on gambling protections for children.
As part of the Statutory Gambling Levy, the Office for Health, Inequalities and Disparity (OHID, are developing a robust spread of measures of gambling harm prevention activity, and are utilising a ‘test and learn’ approach to prevention activity such as gambling education.