Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support is in place to protect those affected by gambling harm during the FIFA World Cup.
Answered by Paul Scully
A variety of initiatives are in place across the gambling regulatory framework and health services to protect individuals and the public from harmful gambling and raise awareness of its risks.
The Gambling Commission requires all gambling operators to make information available to customers on how to gamble safely and how to access information on problem gambling and the support available. Most operators signpost to the charity GambleAware’s begambleaware.org site, which contains a wide range of information on risks as well as links to advice and support, including the 24 hour National Gambling Helpline. The NHS webpage 'Help for problem gambling' covers common indicators which suggest that individuals may be experiencing harmful gambling, and the NHS Live Well page on gambling has been updated, providing information on gambling-related harms and signposting to sources of support.
The Department for Health and Social Care is also taking steps to improve and expand specialist treatment services available for people with a gambling addiction. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, £15m has been committed to establish 15 clinics by 2023/24. Seven specialist clinics are already open and accepting patients. DHSC has committed to undertake an audit of gambling-related harm training materials for healthcare professionals to build capability in the healthcare workforce.
There have also been a number of recent voluntary and regulatory initiatives to reduce the visibility of gambling around major sporting events. The gambling industry’s ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban, prevents gambling ads from airing during and immediately before or after live sports coverage before 9pm. Further to this, the Advertising Standards Authority recently implemented tough new rules banning content with ‘strong appeal to children’ from gambling ads, including top-flight and UK national team footballers. GambleAware have also launched a new phase of their ‘Bet Regret’ campaign for the tournament providing increased signposting to support for gambling harm around the 2022 World Cup.
Evidence on the impacts of gambling advertising, including sponsorship around sports, is being closely considered as part of the government's Review of the Gambling Act. A white paper will be published in the coming weeks outlining our conclusions and next steps.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Gambling Commission has made an assessment of Entain UK's compliance with online gambling advertising rules.
Answered by Paul Scully
I am unable to comment on specific cases of regulatory action taken by the Gambling Commission. However, I have provided some overarching information on online advertising rules contained in the Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
Licensed operators are required to ensure that advertising of gambling products and services is undertaken in a socially responsible manner and complies with the UK Advertising Codes issued by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). As part of its investigation into Entain Group’s regulatory failures, the Gambling Commission made an assessment of its general compliance with the LCCP, which identified anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures, as reflected in the published press statement. Further detail can be found on the Commission’s website.
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, with reference to the Lancet, entitled Policies and interventions to reduce harmful gambling: an international Delphi consensus and implementation rating study, published in August 2022, what recent discussions she has had with the Gambling Commission on that article's proposals to introduce a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol at land-based gambling venues including bingo clubs, casinos and racecourses.
Answered by Paul Scully
Public Health England commissioned the Delphi study in question alongside their independent review of the evidence on gambling-related harms. As is protocol for studies of this kind, the participants have been kept anonymous but the Commission has not provided any formal advice or notification to the Department on the report’s content or recommendations. DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling.
Issues around the advertising and marketing of gambling and the rules governing land-based gambling form part of the broad scope of the government's Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We are closely considering all evidence on these and other topics, and will set out our conclusions and proposals for reform in a white paper to be published 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, with reference to the Lancet article entitled Policies and interventions to reduce harmful gambling: an international Delphi consensus and implementation rating study, published in August 2022, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her polices of that article's findings that there should be a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol at land-based gambling venues, including bingo clubs, casinos and racecourses.
Answered by Paul Scully
Public Health England commissioned the Delphi study in question alongside their independent review of the evidence on gambling-related harms. As is protocol for studies of this kind, the participants have been kept anonymous but the Commission has not provided any formal advice or notification to the Department on the report’s content or recommendations. DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling.
Issues around the advertising and marketing of gambling and the rules governing land-based gambling form part of the broad scope of the government's Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We are closely considering all evidence on these and other topics, and will set out our conclusions and proposals for reform in a white paper to be published 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, with reference to the Lancet article entitled Policies and interventions to reduce harmful gambling: an international Delphi consensus and implementation rating study, published in August 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for her polices of that article's findings that no brands, colours, imagery, corporate logos and trademarks should be displayed on gambling products.
Answered by Paul Scully
Public Health England commissioned the Delphi study in question alongside their independent review of the evidence on gambling-related harms. As is protocol for studies of this kind, the participants have been kept anonymous but the Commission has not provided any formal advice or notification to the Department on the report’s content or recommendations. DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling.
Issues around the advertising and marketing of gambling and the rules governing land-based gambling form part of the broad scope of the government's Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We are closely considering all evidence on these and other topics, and will set out our conclusions and proposals for reform in a white paper to be published 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, with reference to the Lancet article entitled Policies and interventions to reduce harmful gambling: an international Delphi consensus and implementation rating study, published August 2022, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her polices of that article's findings that there should be a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol at land-based gambling venues.
Answered by Paul Scully
Public Health England commissioned the Delphi study in question alongside their independent review of the evidence on gambling-related harms. As is protocol for studies of this kind, the participants have been kept anonymous but the Commission has not provided any formal advice or notification to the Department on the report’s content or recommendations. DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling.
Issues around the advertising and marketing of gambling and the rules governing land-based gambling form part of the broad scope of the government's Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We are closely considering all evidence on these and other topics, and will set out our conclusions and proposals for reform in a white paper to be published 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, with reference to the Lancet article entitled Policies and interventions to reduce harmful gambling: an international Delphi consensus and implementation rating study, published in August 2022, whether she has made an assessment of that article's findings that there should be a universal ban on all gambling marketing, advertising, and promotions.
Answered by Paul Scully
Public Health England commissioned the Delphi study in question alongside their independent review of the evidence on gambling-related harms. As is protocol for studies of this kind, the participants have been kept anonymous but the Commission has not provided any formal advice or notification to the Department on the report’s content or recommendations. DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling.
Issues around the advertising and marketing of gambling and the rules governing land-based gambling form part of the broad scope of the government's Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We are closely considering all evidence on these and other topics, and will set out our conclusions and proposals for reform in a white paper to be published 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 the Gambling Commission was involved the study published in the Lancet entitled Policies and interventions to reduce harmful gambling: an international Delphi consensus and implementation rating study, published in August 2022, including the proposal for a universal ban on all gambling marketing, advertising, and promotions.
Answered by Paul Scully
Public Health England commissioned the Delphi study in question alongside their independent review of the evidence on gambling-related harms. As is protocol for studies of this kind, the participants have been kept anonymous but the Commission has not provided any formal advice or notification to the Department on the report’s content or recommendations. DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling.
Issues around the advertising and marketing of gambling and the rules governing land-based gambling form part of the broad scope of the government's Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We are closely considering all evidence on these and other topics, and will set out our conclusions and proposals for reform in a white paper to be published in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what sanctions the Ofcom can impose on advertisers referred to them by the Advertising Standards Agency for consistently breaking advertising standards.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is responsible for writing and enforcing standards for advertisers through the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) and the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code). In certain areas of these codes the ASA can refer cases to a number of different backstop regulators who have additional enforcement powers. The regulators that can be involved depend on the media in which advertising is published or the type of breach in question.
The ASA’s responsibility for the day-to-day regulation of broadcast advertising content is established under a co-regulatory arrangement with Ofcom. Ofcom can take enforcement action, such as sanctions, against broadcasters who do not comply with ASA decisions and/or where breaches are sufficiently serious.
For non-broadcast advertising, including newspapers, magazines, out of home and the majority of online advertising, the self-regulatory framework primarily applies to advertisers. Where further powers of enforcement have been deemed necessary, the ASA is able to refer certain cases to relevant statutory backstop regulators, such as to the Gambling Commission in the case of gambling advertising, the Competition and Markets Authority in relation to competition in digital markets, and to Trading Standards Services for misleading advertising. Those organisations are able to apply sanctions in line with their respective legislative powers.
Separately, as a result of the Health and Care Act, from 1 January 2024, Ofcom will have the power to sanction broadcasters and online advertisers that breach restrictions surrounding the advertising of products high in fat, sugar or salt on TV or via paid-for advertising online. Ofcom will have statutory responsibility for enforcing restrictions including powers to designate functions to a frontline regulator who will be responsible for the day to day enforcement of the policy. Ofcom will be able to take enforcement action, including the imposition of financial penalties on broadcasters and online advertisers.
The Government consultation on the Online Advertising Programme launched earlier this year and closed on 8 June. The Online Advertising Programme is examining the regulatory model for online advertising to ensure it protects consumers and minimises harm. This work includes looking at the role of platforms and intermediaries, as well as advertisers, to ensure the overarching system is coherent, supporting a sustainable, transparent and accountable online advertising market. We will be publishing a Government response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the exposure to children of gambling adverts in football stadiums.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Football clubs can enter a wide variety of responsible commercial partnerships, which may be promoted in different ways including through kit sponsorships, advertising in stadiums or on club websites. In the 21/22 football season, all 20 Premier League clubs had an official betting partner, while nine clubs had front-of-shirt sponsorship by a gambling operator.
The Government does not make an assessment of the number of children attending professional football matches.
Evidence on the impacts of gambling sponsorship in sports, including the issue of children’s exposure to gambling brands, is being closely considered as part of the government's Review of the Gambling Act. A white paper will be published in the coming weeks outlining our conclusions and next steps.