Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
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 gambling advertising on children; and if he will take steps to ban the depiction of football shirts in publications which are marketed to children.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Gambling operators advertising in the UK must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). A wide range of provisions in these codes are designed to protect children. For example, gambling adverts must not be targeted at children or feature content which appeals particularly to them. Further detail about the codes and their scope can be found at: https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/advertising-codes.html. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising requires that operators ensure their logos do not appear on commercial merchandise which is designed for children, which includes replica football shirts in children’s sizes.
The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8th December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. This closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements, with a specific focus on impacts on children and young people, and we are considering the evidence carefully.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with publishers of children’s magazines on ending the depiction of football shirts with gambling advertising in their publications.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Gambling operators advertising in the UK must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). A wide range of provisions in these codes are designed to protect children. For example, gambling adverts must not be targeted at children or feature content which appeals particularly to them. Further detail about the codes and their scope can be found at: https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/advertising-codes.html. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising requires that operators ensure their logos do not appear on commercial merchandise which is designed for children, which includes replica football shirts in children’s sizes.
The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8th December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. This closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements, with a specific focus on impacts on children and young people, and we are considering the evidence carefully.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that there are player protections in place for people using Camelot UK Lotteries Limited's (a) website and (b) phone application to participate in the National Lottery.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Under the terms of the current National Lottery Licence the operator is required to implement player protection strategies to prevent underage and excessive play, which must be approved by the Gambling Commission, as regulator of the National Lottery.
For new game proposals and changes to existing games, the operator must provide the Gambling Commission with a range of information, such as assessments of the risks associated with certain product characteristics, a broader assessment by the operator’s game design governance group and relevant academic research.
In addition, the Gambling Commission conducts regular, detailed monitoring to identify risks to players, and where appropriate, undertakes strategic reviews of areas of the portfolio which are identified as higher (but not necessarily high) risk. For example, in 2020, the Gambling Commission commissioned research to better understand the players of Online Interactive Instant Win Games. The research found an association between players of Interactive Instant Win Games at the £10 price point and some problem gambling behaviours. As a result of this research, the operator suspended the sale of £10 Online Interactive Instant Win Games, which followed the removal of the £10 scratchcard in 2019.
In December 2020, the government increased the minimum age for the National Lottery as a precautionary measure to ensure the protection of young people. These changes were introduced for all games in April 2021, both for online and retail sales.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to make teaching on the risks of gambling addiction compulsory in PSHE lessons in secondary schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has made relationships education compulsory for all primary schools, relationships and sex education compulsory for all secondary school pupils and health education compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools. Health education includes teaching pupils about the risks associated with gambling. The statutory guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
These subjects will make sure that children and young people are taught about the risks associated with gambling and are able to make informed decisions about their own actions. These subjects will also support pupils to understand the importance of their mental wellbeing and promote safe online behaviour. For example, under the topic of internet safety and harms, the guidance sets out that young people should be taught about the risks related to online gambling, including the accumulation of debt, how advertising and information is targeted at them and how to be a discerning consumer of information online.
To support schools to deliver this content, the Department has produced teacher training modules. This includes teaching pupils about the risks associated with gambling as part of health education. A link to the training modules is available on GOV.UK and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health#primary-teacher-training-modules.
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 what assessment they have made of the number of children exposed to gambling advertising through professional sports.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government does not hold data on the number of children exposed to gambling advertising through professional sports. However, the Gambling Commission’s annual survey of children and young people includes figures on the proportion of children who have seen gambling adverts in a number of settings. In 2019, that survey found that 50% of 11-16 year olds had seen or heard a gambling advertisement linked to a sports event. In 2020, the survey found that 41% of 11-16 year olds had seen or heard gambling adverts linked to a sports event but the outbreak of Covid-19 halted fieldwork for the 2020 survey before it was finished. The 2020 survey is therefore not directly comparable to previous years.
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement and must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. In 2019, the Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising was amended to include a whistle-to-whistle ban on betting adverts being shown during live sport before the 9pm watershed.
We launched the Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we have called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise.
Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have commissioned into the most common pathways to gambling disorder for women.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Public Health England is currently carrying out an evidence review on the prevalence, determinants and harms associated with gambling, and the social and economic burden of gambling-related harms. This includes reviewing the evidence on young people, men and women. The review is expected to be completed in March 2021.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the need for a prevalence survey on levels of problem gambling among women.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The NHS Long Term Plan announced the creation of up to 15 specialist gambling clinics by 2023/24. Work continues on the phased expansion of these services, enabling the National Health Service to explore how best to use existing treatment models to reach those most in need of support.
The Department commissioned Public Health England to undertake the first ever comprehensive evidence review focussed on gambling-related harm. The review will look at the prevalence, determinants and harms associated with gambling, alongside the social and economic burden of gambling-related harms. This includes reviewing the evidence on young people, men and women. The review will be published later this year.
Alongside this, the National Institute of Health Research commissioned a research unit in Sheffield University to undertake a mapping review of the effectiveness of national and international policies and interventions to reduce gambling-related harms.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of standard treatments for problem gambling among women.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The NHS Long Term Plan announced the creation of up to 15 specialist gambling clinics by 2023/24. Work continues on the phased expansion of these services, enabling the National Health Service to explore how best to use existing treatment models to reach those most in need of support.
The Department commissioned Public Health England to undertake the first ever comprehensive evidence review focussed on gambling-related harm. The review will look at the prevalence, determinants and harms associated with gambling, alongside the social and economic burden of gambling-related harms. This includes reviewing the evidence on young people, men and women. The review will be published later this year.
Alongside this, the National Institute of Health Research commissioned a research unit in Sheffield University to undertake a mapping review of the effectiveness of national and international policies and interventions to reduce gambling-related harms.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on (a) problem gamblers and (b) children of gambling advertising on daytime TV.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
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) recently concluded a consultation on proposals to amend the advertising codes to further limit the potential for adverts to appeal to these groups. The broadcast advertising codes make clear that adverts for commercial gambling must not be shown during or adjacent to television programmes directed at or likely to appeal particularly to children. In addition, the Industry Code for Socially Responsible Gambling Advertising prohibits gambling advertising on television before 9pm, except for adverts promoting bingo or lotteries, and sports betting in limited circumstances (not immediately around or during live sport).
The government is not aware of specific evidence on the effect of gambling advertising broadcast on television during the day. However, in March 2020 the charity GambleAware published the final report of a major piece of research into the effect of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable people. That study found that exposure to advertising was associated with an openness to gamble in the future amongst children and young people aged 11-24 who did not currently gamble. It also found that there were other factors that correlated more closely with current gambling behaviour amongst those groups, including peer and parental gambling. Among vulnerable adults, the study found some evidence that problem or heavy gamblers were more likely to report that marketing had prompted them to place a bet or open a new account. It did not suggest a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling in childhood or later life.
The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we have called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise.
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 research, if any, they have conducted into the pathways to gambling disorder by women.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Public Health England is currently carrying out an evidence review on the prevalence, determinants and harms associated with gambling, and the social and economic burden of gambling-related harms. This includes reviewing the evidence on young people, men and women. The review is expected to be completed in March 2021.
Alongside this, the National Institute of Health Research commissioned a research unit in Sheffield University to undertake a mapping review of the effectiveness of national and international policies and interventions to reduce gambling-related harms.