Questioner: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to tighten restrictions on gambling advertising in the UK.
Answered by Chris Philp
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators and their affiliates must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). In addition, the gambling industry has its own gambling advertising code – The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising which includes additional requirements, for example, a 9pm television advertising watershed for most forms of gambling and ensuring advertising is targeted only at those over 25 years old on social media.
The Government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 with the publication of a Call for Evidence which closed on 31 March. As part of the wide scope of this review we called for evidence on the potential benefits or harms of allowing licensed gambling operators to advertise. The Call for Evidence received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a White Paper outlining conclusions and next steps in due course. The Government is also looking more broadly at how online advertising is regulated through the Online Advertising Programme, which will be launching a public consultation in the coming months.
Questioner: Henry Smith (CON - Crawley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to include consideration in the Gambling Act review of the introduction of testing for new amusement machines and games to gather evidence on regulatory reforms and social responsibility measures.
Answered by Chris Philp
As part of its broad scope, our Gambling Act Review call for evidence included questions on the rules governing land based gambling and the need to ensure an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries.
We are carefully considering all the evidence submitted and a white paper setting out our next steps and proposals for reform will be published in due course.
Questioner: Henry Smith (CON - Crawley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to undertake regular reviews of the gambling sector to ensure that policy, regulation, stakes and prizes are kept up to date.
Answered by Chris Philp
As part of its broad scope, our Gambling Act Review call for evidence included questions on the rules governing land based gambling and the need to ensure an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries.
We are carefully considering all the evidence submitted and a white paper setting out our next steps and proposals for reform will be published in due course.
Questioner: Gregory Campbell (DUP - East Londonderry)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the change in problem gambling rates between 2015 and 2020 among those aged between (a) 11-18, (b) 19-25, and (c) 26-35.
Answered by Chris Philp
As set out in Public Health England’s evidence review on gambling-related harms, the estimated overall problem gambling rate for England was 0.5% in 2018, and has been stable at this rate since 2012. This estimate was drawn from the Health Surveys conducted in 2012, 2015, 2016 and most recently in 2018. The problem gambling rates for those aged between 16-44 years old in the 2015 combined Health Survey for Great Britain and the 2018 Health Survey for England were as follows:
| 16-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 |
Combined Health Survey for Great Britain (2015) |
|
|
|
Health Survey for England (2018) | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.6% |
To supplement the Health Surveys, the Gambling Commission carries out a quarterly survey by telephone which includes a shortened problem gambling screen. For the year to December 2020 this estimated a problem gambling rate of 0.3% (estimated at 0.5% in 2015). The problem gambling rate among 16-24 year olds was 0.5%, among 25-34 year olds was 0.2% and 35-44 year olds was 0.8%.
The Gambling Commission’s Young People and Gambling Report has measured gambling behaviour in children since 2014, including problem gambling using an adapted screen. The data is not directly comparable over the period as the sample group has changed from 12-15 year olds in England and Wales (2014-16) to 11-16 year olds in England, Scotland and Wales, and there have also been changes to the survey methodology. In 2015, the Commision found the problem gambling rate among 12-15 year olds in England and Wales was 0.6%. In 2019, the last year for which the survey has been based on complete data, the rate for 11-16 year olds in England, Scotland and Wales was 1.7%.
Questioner: Carolyn Harris (LAB - Swansea East)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of organisations that claim to uphold gambling standards representing companies that are being investigated for black market activities.
Answered by Chris Philp
All gambling companies offering gambling facilities to consumers in Great Britain, wherever they are based, must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions and codes of practice of their operating licences. Operators are expected to obey the laws of all other jurisdictions in which they operate, and must report any regulatory or criminal investigation into their activities in any jurisdiction to the Commission. Operators must also report the granting, withdrawal or refusal of any application for a licence in another jurisdiction. These requirements, along with the international cooperation the Commission enjoys with other gambling regulators, enable the Commission to make the necessary ongoing assessments of an operator’s suitability to hold a GB licence. It is for the responsible authorities in each jurisdiction to determine whether operators’ activities comply with the applicable rules.
Further information on what the Gambling Commission expects from its licensed operators regarding their operations in other jurisdictions can be found in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice:
Our Review of the Gambling Act 2005 is looking widely at the framework of gambling regulation in Great Britain, including the powers and resources of the Gambling Commission.
Questioner: Carolyn Harris (LAB - Swansea East)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has plans to remove gambling licences in the UK from operators that are found to be engaged in black market activity.
Answered by Chris Philp
All gambling companies offering gambling facilities to consumers in Great Britain, wherever they are based, must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions and codes of practice of their operating licences. Operators are expected to obey the laws of all other jurisdictions in which they operate, and must report any regulatory or criminal investigation into their activities in any jurisdiction to the Commission. Operators must also report the granting, withdrawal or refusal of any application for a licence in another jurisdiction. These requirements, along with the international cooperation the Commission enjoys with other gambling regulators, enable the Commission to make the necessary ongoing assessments of an operator’s suitability to hold a GB licence. It is for the responsible authorities in each jurisdiction to determine whether operators’ activities comply with the applicable rules.
Further information on what the Gambling Commission expects from its licensed operators regarding their operations in other jurisdictions can be found in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice:
Our Review of the Gambling Act 2005 is looking widely at the framework of gambling regulation in Great Britain, including the powers and resources of the Gambling Commission.
Questioner: Chi Onwurah (LAB - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps is she taking to ensure that the victims of the Football Index scandal are compensated for their losses on investments.
Answered by Chris Philp
The government appreciates the significant impact that the collapse of the novel gambling product Football Index had on former customers. BetIndex, the company which operated Football Index, went into liquidation on 5 November. The process is continuing and it is likely that this will result in some amounts being reimbursed to creditors. There is no compensation scheme for losses caused by a gambling firm ceasing to operate and the government does not think it would be appropriate to use public funds for these purposes.
Questioner: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (CON - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many gifts or instances of hospitality have been received by (1) ministers, and (2) officials, from representatives of the gambling industry in each of the last five years; and in each case, (a) what was the gift or hospitality, (b) who provided it, and (c) who received it.
Answered by Lord True
Details of ministerial gifts and ministerial hospitality are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.
Officials dealing with gambling policy do not accept gifts or hospitality from the gambling industry.
Questioner: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (CON - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have (1) been referred, and (2) self-referred, to NHS gambling addiction services in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information requested is not held centrally.
Questioner: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (CON - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact assessments on the societal cost of problem gambling they have undertaken to inform their proposed white paper on gambling reform.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
As set out in Public Health England’s evidence review on gambling-related harms, the estimated problem gambling rate for England was 0.5% in 2018, or around 245,600 people, with figures drawn from the Health Survey. The most recent combined Health Survey figure for adults in Great Britain was 0.6%, or approximately 340,000 people, in 2016. To supplement the Health Surveys, the Gambling Commission carries out a quarterly survey by telephone which includes a shortened problem gambling screening. For the year to September 2021 this estimated a problem gambling rate of 0.3%.
According to the Commission’s Young People and Gambling 2019 report, 11% of 11-16 year olds said they had spent their own money on gambling activities in the seven days prior to being surveyed. This was a reduction from 14% in 2018 and 23% in 2011.
Public Health England’s evidence review also looked at the available evidence on the direct, indirect and intangible costs of gambling harm to society. It estimated an annual cost of approximately £1.27 billion associated with people who are problem or at-risk gamblers, including £619.2 million of intangible costs associated with suicide.
Questioner: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (CON - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children in Great Britain who gamble regularly; and what research they have undertaken to form this estimate.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
As set out in Public Health England’s evidence review on gambling-related harms, the estimated problem gambling rate for England was 0.5% in 2018, or around 245,600 people, with figures drawn from the Health Survey. The most recent combined Health Survey figure for adults in Great Britain was 0.6%, or approximately 340,000 people, in 2016. To supplement the Health Surveys, the Gambling Commission carries out a quarterly survey by telephone which includes a shortened problem gambling screening. For the year to September 2021 this estimated a problem gambling rate of 0.3%.
According to the Commission’s Young People and Gambling 2019 report, 11% of 11-16 year olds said they had spent their own money on gambling activities in the seven days prior to being surveyed. This was a reduction from 14% in 2018 and 23% in 2011.
Public Health England’s evidence review also looked at the available evidence on the direct, indirect and intangible costs of gambling harm to society. It estimated an annual cost of approximately £1.27 billion associated with people who are problem or at-risk gamblers, including £619.2 million of intangible costs associated with suicide.
Questioner: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (CON - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of problem gamblers in Great Britain; and what research they have undertaken to form this estimate.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
As set out in Public Health England’s evidence review on gambling-related harms, the estimated problem gambling rate for England was 0.5% in 2018, or around 245,600 people, with figures drawn from the Health Survey. The most recent combined Health Survey figure for adults in Great Britain was 0.6%, or approximately 340,000 people, in 2016. To supplement the Health Surveys, the Gambling Commission carries out a quarterly survey by telephone which includes a shortened problem gambling screening. For the year to September 2021 this estimated a problem gambling rate of 0.3%.
According to the Commission’s Young People and Gambling 2019 report, 11% of 11-16 year olds said they had spent their own money on gambling activities in the seven days prior to being surveyed. This was a reduction from 14% in 2018 and 23% in 2011.
Public Health England’s evidence review also looked at the available evidence on the direct, indirect and intangible costs of gambling harm to society. It estimated an annual cost of approximately £1.27 billion associated with people who are problem or at-risk gamblers, including £619.2 million of intangible costs associated with suicide.
Questioner: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (CON - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths related to gambling harm were recorded in Great Britain in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual coroner statistics which include all short form and narrative conclusions such as accident or misadventure, open and suicide.
However, the statistics do not include the motivating factor behind the deaths as it is beyond the coroner’s jurisdiction to determine why someone died. The coroner’s statutory role is limited to determining the identity of the deceased; how, when and where they died; and any information needed to register the death.
Questioner: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (CON - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were hospitalised in England as a result of gambling in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information is not available in the format requested. There are a very small number of patients identified as being admitted to hospital through gambling-related diagnoses as the primary diagnosis which NHS Digital publishes in an online format.
However, gambling will often be recorded as a secondary diagnosis which may be a contributory factor towards another diagnosis. In many cases patients will present in through accident and emergency settings. However, data on such patients is not collected in the format requested.
Questioner: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (CON - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how much tax the Exchequer received from gambling-related activities in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes statistics relating to gambling related activities for Corporation Tax, Betting and Gaming Duties and VAT. For Income Tax, information for gambling related activities is not available.