Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the relationship between (a) the use of in-game loot boxes and (b) the likelihood of future gambling related harms amongst young people.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Following the Government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes in video games, the Government has welcomed new industry-led guidance that aims to address the concerns identified for all players, including young people.
Measures to protect players should ensure that the purchase of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless enabled by a parent or guardian, and all players should have access to, and be aware of, spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gameplay.
The Government has agreed a 12-month implementation period for the new guidance on loot boxes and has asked the industry, coordinated by Ukie, to report back to DCMS on the extent to which it has been implemented.
We will continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review, informed by academic scrutiny of the industry-led measures. We will provide a further update in due course, following the 12-month implementation period.
Under the Gambling Act 2005, gambling is defined as playing a game of chance for a prize of money or money’s worth. The prizes that can be won via most loot boxes do not have a monetary value, cannot be cashed-out, and are of value only within the context of the game. They therefore do not meet that definition. As set out in the Government’s response to the call for evidence, there are also a number of disadvantages to changing the definition of gambling including the likelihood of capturing unintended activities, creating logistical difficulties in increasing the remit of the Gambling Commission, and undermining gambling taxation.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support combating gambling addictions in the community at large, particularly among younger people.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. It is particularly important to take steps to protect those, particularly young people, who are at risk of experiencing gambling harm.
In April the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a White Paper following our review of the Gambling Act 2005. The White Paper outlined a series of measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and to ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new, frictionless financial risk checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to customer-led tools, and tougher restrictions on bonuses and direct marketing. These measures will be complemented by strengthened messaging about the risks associated with gambling. The White Paper also contained a commitment to introduce a new statutory levy paid by operators to fund research, prevention, and treatment. In July 2023 the Gambling Commission also published a vulnerability statement, outlining its approach to identifying, supporting, and protecting consumers who are in vulnerable situations.
We are working with the Gambling Commission and others to bring the measures from the White Paper into force as quickly as possible, and have already published consultations on a number of important proposals so that we can finalise details ahead of their implementation.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent steps have been taken to (1) raise awareness of the risks, and (2) promote responsible practices, in relation to online gambling, particularly among vulnerable groups such as young people and individuals with mental health challenges.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble online without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. It is particularly important to take steps to protect vulnerable groups, including young people, from risks associated with online gambling.
In April the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a White Paper following our review of the Gambling Act 2005. The White Paper outlined a series of measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and to ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new, frictionless financial risk checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to customer-led tools, and tougher restrictions on bonuses and direct marketing. These measures will be complemented by strengthened informational messaging about the risks associated with gambling. The White Paper also contained a commitment to introduce a new statutory levy paid by operators to fund research, prevention, and treatment. In July the Gambling Commission also published a vulnerability statement, outlining its approach to identifying, supporting, and protecting consumers who are in vulnerable situations.
We are working with the Gambling Commission and others to bring the measures from the White Paper into force as quickly as possible, and have already published consultations on a number of important proposals so that we can finalise details ahead of their implementation.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has considered making changes to the existing requirements for (a) full and (b) remote ancillary licences for society lotteries in the context of increases in the use of handheld electronic devices in recruiting subscribers.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I am aware of this issue, which was raised with me when I met with representatives of the Lotteries Council on 23 May.
Section 4 of the Gambling Act 2005 states that where a telephone (or other forms of electronic communication) are used to participate in gambling, it will be treated as remote gambling.
Under the Gambling Act all operators that offer remote gambling are required to hold a remote operating licence. This means that if a lottery sells tickets face to face and remotely by telephone or online it will need two licences. The holder of a non-remote lottery operating (society) licence pays an annual fee of only £50 for an ancillary licence, if its remote proceeds in that year do not exceed £250,000. Annual fees for standalone remote licences range from £400 to £796 depending on proceeds.
I therefore have no current plans to amend the society lottery licensing arrangements in the Gambling Act.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on tackling problem gambling among women.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We carried out a wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act 2005 and recently published a white paper.
Our proposals will benefit anyone who is experiencing or at risk of harm, very much including women.
We are working hard with the Gambling Commission and others to implement them as soon as possible.
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, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the gambling industry on young people under 18 using fake ID to take part in online gambling.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that it is particularly important to take steps to protect young people at risk of harms associated with online gambling.
The Gambling Act review considered the efficacy of protections for children and young adults, including on age controls for online gambling. Evidence submitted as part of the review, and Gambling Commission surveys show low rates of illegal underage gambling with online operators. When this does occur, it is generally through misuse of an adult’s account or details rather than a failure of the verification process.
While the current rules require online operators to verify a customer’s age before they are allowed to deposit money or gamble, they do not specify how this has to be done. Most operators use background checks to verify age and identity, rather than relying on the provision of identity documentation. There is little evidence to suggest widespread use of fake documentation by underage adults to access online gambling.
We recently published a white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005. The paper introduces a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products that can drive harm, particularly among young people.
Over recent years, the Government has worked with the Gambling Commission and others on a range of measures to protect young people from harms associated with online gambling. This includes tightening the age verification requirements for both land-based and online operators in 2019, and raising the minimum age to play the National Lottery to 18 and over in 2021.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to address the issue of problem online gambling; and what measures they plan to implement to protect vulnerable individuals online.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble online without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. It is particularly important to take steps to protect vulnerable people, including young people, from risks associated with problem online gambling.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport recently published a White Paper following our review of the Gambling Act 2005. This White Paper outlines a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new player protection checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to consumer redress, and a statutory levy on operators to fund research, education and treatment.
We will work with the Gambling Commission and others to bring these measures into force at the earliest possible opportunity. Where further consultations are necessary, our aim is to publish them as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help prevent addiction to gambling among young people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that it is particularly important to take steps to protect young people at risk of gambling harms and addiction.
We recently published a white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005, and are working with the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to bring these measures into force as soon as possible, subject to further consultation where appropriate. The paper introduces a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected, including young people. These include strengthening the land-based age verification regime, especially around gaming machines in pubs, bringing society lotteries and football pools into line with the National Lottery by raising the minimum age to 18, and putting new expectations on operators to consider age as a potential factor in customer vulnerability.
Over recent years, the Government has worked with the Gambling Commission and others on a range of measures to protect young people from gambling related harm. This includes tightening the age verification requirements for both land-based and online operators in 2019, and raising the minimum age to play the National Lottery to 18 and over in 2021. Last year the Committees of Advertising Practice updated advertising rules so that gambling adverts cannot have strong appeal to children even if they appeal more to adults.
In addition to these regulatory changes, specific steps have been taken to prevent and treat gambling harm in young people. Since September 2020, teaching young people about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt, has been included in the curriculum for all schools under Health Education in all state-funded schools, alongside Relationships Education (primary) and Relationships and Sex Education (secondary). In 2019 the NHS young person gambling addiction service was also launched.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
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 Gambling Commission's adherence to the Regulators Code; and how many discussions have Ministers or officials in her Department had with the Gambling Commission on their requirements under the Regulators Code in each of the last three years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As the sponsoring department of the Gambling Commission, we engage regularly to discuss their performance in line with relevant Cabinet Office guidance.
It is the responsibility of regulators to ensure that the Regulators’ Code is reflected appropriately in their own policy and procedures. The Commission’s statement of principles for licensing and regulation outlines the general principles it will apply in exercising its functions under the Gambling Act 2005. These principles were formulated with a view to ensuring that the Commission regulates gambling in line with the Regulators’ Code in a supportive, straightforward, risk based, and transparent manner.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with (a) the gambling industry, (b) gambling campaigners and campaign groups and (c) users of gambling services in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of gambling stakeholders, including industry and charity representatives, to hear their views on the sector and discuss areas of concern. These meetings are continuing following the publication of the white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005.
All ministerial meetings are published on GOV.UK and can be accessed on the website.