Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people aged between 13 and 25 have received treatment from the National Problem Gambling Clinic since 2019.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to reduce gambling advertising during school run hours, in the context of analysis from Nielsen which found that approximately 1,200 hours of such advertisements aired during those times over the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Adverts must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people, and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has recently announced changes to further restrict content that may appeal to vulnerable people, with a further announcement on measures to protect children expected shortly. Radio adverts are subject to a pre-clearance regime through RadioCentre and radio advertising receives a very low volume of complaints, accounting for only 2% of all cases investigated by the ASA in 2020.
Children’s exposure to gambling adverts through radio remains very low, with research from Ipsos Mori for GambleAware in 2020 finding that radio advertising accounted for only 1% of children and young people’s reported exposure to gambling adverts. However, it is our understanding that at least one major gambling operator has committed not to run radio adverts during ‘school run’ periods in response to Nielsen’s findings.
As part of our wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act 2005 we are looking closely at the rules around gambling advertising and carefully considering the evidence of its impacts. A White Paper setting out future direction of travel will be published in the coming months.
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 recommendation from the report by Bristol University What are the odds? The appeal of gambling adverts to children and young persons on twitter, published on 26 October, that there should be an opt-in requirement to receive gambling advertisements on social media.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is carrying out a Review of the Gambling Act 2005 and is looking closely at the evidence regarding the impacts of allowing operators to advertise, including on social media. It will consider the research conducted by Bristol University carefully as part of that Review.
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators advertising online, including on social media, must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Gambling Commission may take enforcement action against them if they do not. The CAP consulted earlier this year on proposals to strengthen the codes and further limit the presence of gambling adverts for the protection of children and vulnerable people. Changes to safeguard vulnerable adults were announced this summer, and the full outcome is to be announced before the end of the year.
Following work with the Gambling Commission, the industry has also committed to make better use of advertising technology to target adverts away from children on social media. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising now requires operators to ensure paid-for advertising is targeted only at those over 25 years old on social media and to age-gate operator YouTube channels and content.
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 this year. Our aim is to foster fair, accountable and ethical online advertising that works for individuals, businesses and society as a whole.
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 report by Bristol University What are the odds? The appeal of gambling adverts to children and young persons on twitter, published on 26 October; and particularly the findings that (1) the majority of gambling advertisements were twice as likely to appeal to children as older adults, and (2) nearly half of children and almost three quarters of young people saw gambling adverts on Twitter almost once per week
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is carrying out a Review of the Gambling Act 2005 and is looking closely at the evidence regarding the impacts of allowing operators to advertise, including on social media. It will consider the research conducted by Bristol University carefully as part of that Review.
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators advertising online, including on social media, must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Gambling Commission may take enforcement action against them if they do not. The CAP consulted earlier this year on proposals to strengthen the codes and further limit the presence of gambling adverts for the protection of children and vulnerable people. Changes to safeguard vulnerable adults were announced this summer, and the full outcome is to be announced before the end of the year.
Following work with the Gambling Commission, the industry has also committed to make better use of advertising technology to target adverts away from children on social media. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising now requires operators to ensure paid-for advertising is targeted only at those over 25 years old on social media and to age-gate operator YouTube channels and content.
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 this year. Our aim is to foster fair, accountable and ethical online advertising that works for individuals, businesses and society as a whole.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the measures in place to protect (1) young, and (2) vulnerable, people from problem online gambling.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All online gambling operators must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the strict licence conditions including measures to protect children and vulnerable people. Importantly, this includes tough age verification requirements to ensure children cannot gamble online, and an obligation on operators to monitor data and intervene when customers show signs of a risk of harm.
In addition to this, the Government and the Gambling Commission have significantly strengthened the age verification requirements, banned gambling on credit cards, made online slots safer with a new game design code, mandated integration with Gamstop (the one-stop online self exclusion scheme) and introduced new rules on VIP schemes.
Building on this record, we are reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the Gambling Act Review is looking at the effectiveness of existing measures to ensure the protection of young and vulnerable people from the risks associated with online gambling. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a white paper outlining any conclusions and proposals for reform in due course.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on users of video games that contain gambling-like practices and are not currently regulated by gambling regulation.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Ensuring that video games are enjoyed safely by people is a priority for this government and we remain committed to tackling issues relating to safety and video games.
This is why the Government launched a call for evidence in September 2020 specifically looking at issues and concerns around loot boxes and potential associations with gambling-related harms. The call for evidence closed in November 2020 and received more than 30,000 responses. The call for evidence sought detailed information on the impact of loot boxes on players, particularly children and young people, and evidence of potential harms. We are currently assessing the evidence gathered.
The Government will be publishing its response to the call for evidence in the coming months. The Government stands ready to take action should the findings from the call for evidence support taking further measures to ensure players are protected.
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 assessment he has made of the effect of increases in (a) gambling advertising on levels of gambling and (b) gambling on levels of gambling-related harm.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government launched the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of that we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise and will consider carefully any evidence of links between advertising and gambling related harm. The call for evidence closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals. We are currently considering the evidence submitted and aim to publish conclusions by the end of the year.
Professor Per Binde’s 2014 literature review, conducted for the Responsible Gambling Trust (now GambleAware), explored five possible mechanisms by which gambling advertising could impact problem gambling behaviour:
Stimulating a current gambler’s gambling behaviour to an extent that it becomes problematic;
Inducing a non-gambler to start gambling in a way that quickly becomes problematic;
Inducing a non-gambler to start gambling in a way that eventually becomes problematic;
Maintaining or exacerbating existing problem gambling behaviour; or
Creating a positive societal attitude (particularly amongst young people) towards gambling.
Of these potential impacts, Binde’s review found empirical evidence only for the fourth. While this research found evidence that advertising may adversely impact problem gamblers’ efforts to cut down, it did not establish a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2021 to Question 2347 on Gambling: Advertising, whether the Government has an evidential basis for the absence of a causal link between (a) exposure to gambling advertising and (b) the development of problem gambling.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government launched the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of that we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise and will consider carefully any evidence of links between advertising and gambling related harm. The call for evidence closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals. We are currently considering the evidence submitted and aim to publish conclusions by the end of the year.
Professor Per Binde’s 2014 literature review, conducted for the Responsible Gambling Trust (now GambleAware), explored five possible mechanisms by which gambling advertising could impact problem gambling behaviour:
Stimulating a current gambler’s gambling behaviour to an extent that it becomes problematic;
Inducing a non-gambler to start gambling in a way that quickly becomes problematic;
Inducing a non-gambler to start gambling in a way that eventually becomes problematic;
Maintaining or exacerbating existing problem gambling behaviour; or
Creating a positive societal attitude (particularly amongst young people) towards gambling.
Of these potential impacts, Binde’s review found empirical evidence only for the fourth. While this research found evidence that advertising may adversely impact problem gamblers’ efforts to cut down, it did not establish a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling.