Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2022 to Question HL2267 on Gambling Act 2005 Review, what her Department's timescale is for publishing their response to their review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Answered by Damian Collins
The Gambling Act Review is a wide-ranging and comprehensive look at gambling legislation and regulation in Great Britain to make sure it is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White paper setting out our vision for the sector in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential economic impact of reducing the licensing requirements on casinos.
Answered by Damian Collins
The Government is conducting a wide-ranging and evidence-led Review of the Gambling Act 2005. This includes consideration of the legislative landscape for casinos, in particular the distinction between the new style casinos allowed by the 2005 Act and the majority of casinos whose licences align with provisions originating in the Gambling Act 1968. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in due course and appropriate consideration of impacts will be made at all stages.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their response to their review of the Gambling Act 2005, which ran from 8 December 2020 to 31 March 2021.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Gambling Act Review was launched with the publication of a wide-ranging Call for Evidence, which closed in March 2021 and received over 16,000 responses. We will publish a white paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take in response to the recommendations set out in the ‘Prevention of Future Deaths Report’ issued after the inquest of Jack Ritchie, published on 7 March.
Answered by Lord Kamall
In May 2022, the Government published its response to the Coroner's Prevention of Future Deaths report following the inquest into the death of Jack Ritchie. A copy of the Government’s response is attached.
This confirmed the Government’s commitment to addressing gambling-related harms and prioritising gambling as a public health issue. We will improve the awareness and understanding of gambling-related harms amongst healthcare professions as well as expanding and improving specialist treatment services available for people with a gambling addiction. We have also committed to assess current gambling regulation through the Review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether loot boxes are (1) games of chance, and (2) capable of being exchanged for real money.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the link between loot boxes and problem gambling.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase monitoring of third-party websites that enable the trading of loot box items.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regarding support and specialist treatment services available for those with gambling addictions.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Ministers have held discussions on the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 and on support and specialist treatment services available for those experiencing gambling-related harm.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has instructed the Gambling Commission to impose rules or guidance on betting operators to subject their customers to affordability checks.
Answered by Damian Collins
The Gambling Commission is the independent regulator for the gambling industry. As part of its responsibilities it issues a social responsibility code, including the requirement that operators identify and interact with customers who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing harm.
In 2021, the Gambling Commission closed a consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction, including the specific issue of affordability checks. In its consultation response, the Commission confirmed it will conduct a further consultation on specific steps operators should take to tackle three key risks associated with financial harm. The response can be found here.
The Government cannot issue instructions to the Commission on how it fulfils its statutory duties or what to include in its guidance and codes, but we have worked closely on this issue in the run up to publishing our white paper on the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure any proposed changes are joined up.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the NERA report Economic Assessment of Selected House of Lords Gambling Reforms, published 26 May 2021; and what assessment they have made of how gambling reform could help to level up disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The report of the House of Lords Select Committee has been an important contribution to the evidence base informing our Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We have also carefully considered the “Economic Assessment of Selected House of Lords Gambling Reforms” by NERA, along with a wide range of evidence from other sources including the 16,000 submissions to our call for evidence. We are determined to tackle gambling harms across society with effective but proportionate controls, and will publish a white paper outlining our vision for the sector in the coming weeks.