Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to bring loot boxes under gambling regulation.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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 and do not fall under gambling regulation. There are currently no plans to change this.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether prediction markets will be regulated by the (a) Gambling Commission and (b) Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 adequacy of current regulatory requirements on gambling operators to carry out due diligence in verifying the source of funds when accepting customer deposits; and whether she plans to introduce further measures to strengthen such requirements.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Gambling Commission has a duty to ensure that the necessary controls are in place to prevent gambling businesses being used for illicit purposes.
As part of the Operator’s Gambling Licence in Great Britain under the Condition of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), operators are required to keep up-to-date with emerging risks information published by the Gambling Commission. This assessment is a trigger for operators to review their own money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments and related policies, procedures and controls to ensure that they remain appropriate and effective.
The Gambling Commission regularly publishes its enforcement actions which identifies and enforces penalties for breaches. We have regular engagement with the GC on appropriate measures and keep these under review.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 raise awareness of gambling-related harms and mitigate the impact of gambling advertisements.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All operators who advertise in the UK must comply with advertising codes, which are enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority independently of government. The codes include a wide range of provisions which are designed to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm and ensure that adverts are socially responsible.
However, we recognise that more work needs to be done to ensure that gambling advertising does not exacerbate harm. We are working closely, across government and with industry, to ensure children and the most vulnerable are protected, and to tackle illegal gambling advertising.
In addition, the new statutory gambling levy will raise around c.£100 million in funding every year. This funding will be ringfenced to deliver priority projects and services for the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm, further increasing awareness, understanding and treatment of gambling-related harms across Great Britain.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 implications for her policies of Chapter One's report entitled Ten Point Plan for Gambling Harm Prevention.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is acutely aware of the impact that gambling harm can have on individuals, families and communities and we are committed to strengthening protections for those at risk.
We consider a wide range of evidence when making policy and regulatory decisions. This includes consideration of the recommendations in Chapter One’s report “Ten Point Plan for Gambling Harm Prevention”.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 ensure that the statutory gambling levy takes a public health approach.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In our response to the consultation on the statutory levy, we set out the levy’s overarching principles to ensure that the lead commissioning bodies are supporting the government in delivering on our vision for the future system. This includes a coordinated approach to prevention at the local, regional and national level and providing investment to develop and deliver harm reduction activities across Great Britain.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities holds responsibilities for prevention programme design and commissioning in England, alongside appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales. We are collectively committed to ensuring the levy system is effective, evidence-based and aligned with wider public health principles.
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 discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the potential impact of budget changes to betting and gaming levies on the viability of British sports.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing and other sports make to the nation’s economy and sporting landscape. DCMS and HMT Ministers have regular engagement on betting and gaming levies.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 Government to crack down on gambling operator sport sponsorship, published on 23 February 2026, what information her Department holds on the number of people in 2025 who utilised unlicensed gambling operators which sponsored sports clubs.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We do not hold this information, as it is difficult to calculate the exact number of people who use unlicensed operators. British consumers using these sites do so using a virtual private network which affects web traffic data.
However, the Government remains committed to tackling the illegal market and the threats it poses to British consumers. Last year, the Gambling Commission published a series of research reports on the illegal market and is working to further improve its evidence base. We also invite further information on the use of unlicensed operators through the consultation process.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how the monies raised through the statutory gambling levy is being allocated; and if they will publish a breakdown of spending by (a) prevention, (b) treatment, (c) innovation and (d) research into gambling-related harms.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This year the statutory levy has raised just under £120 million, which will be ringfenced solely for the use of tackling gambling-related harm. Details on how this has been allocated are available in this Written Ministerial Statement.
DCMS will publish an Annual Report setting out each year how levy funds have been spent. We expect the first Annual Report to be published this summer.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she had discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the potential impact of raising betting duty on Greyhound Racing alongside general sports duty in 2027; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of bringing betting duty in line with the rate of duty on horse racing.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025, the government announced a package of changes to gambling duties which will raise over £1 billion per year to support the public finances and forms part of our ambition to create a fair, modern and sustainable tax system.
As part of this package, remote betting will see an increase from 15% to 25% from 1 April 2027. The government is protecting horseracing from these changes as horserace bets are already subject to a mandatory 10% levy. Recognising this unique position, there will therefore be no change to the duty for bets on UK horseracing, whether in person or online. While operators can pay a voluntary levy of 0.6 per cent on greyhound bets, they are not subject to the same 10 per cent mandatory levy that bets on horseracing are.