Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age, published on 27 April, when they will publish the cross-sport Code of Conduct outlined in that paper; and whether they will include an implementation timeline.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All domestic sports governing bodies have agreed to four core principles underpinning the cross-sport Code of Conduct on gambling sponsorship: (i) protecting children and young people; (ii) socially responsible promotion; (iii) reinvestment in sport; and (iv) maintaining sporting integrity. These principles put in place a robust minimum standard for sponsorship across all sports. Through the code, a proportion of in-stadium advertising will be dedicated to safer gambling, and replica kits for adults will be made available without gambling logos, alongside the existing requirements for children’s replica kits.
We want sports governing bodies to have sufficient flexibility to implement these principles in a way which maximises impact for the sports and their fans. Bespoke, sport-specific codes are currently being designed by individual governing bodies, and will be published and implemented in due course. The Premier League and English Football League plan to have their codes in place by next season. DCMS will continue to work closely with sports bodies to ensure that implementation and enforcement processes are robust.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the joint report by the University of Bristol and Channel 5 New Season, More Self-Regulation, More Marketing, published in September 2023, which found that 92 per cent of social content marketing ads sent by major gambling brands in the opening weekend of the Premier League were not clearly identifiable as advertising.
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. In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while recognising that advertising is an entirely legitimate commercial practice for responsible firms.
There are robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting advertisements during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced the number of views of gambling advertisements by children (aged 4–17) by 70 per cent over the duration of live sporting programmes. We also welcomed the Premier League’s announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts, and are working with a wider group of sports governing bodies to introduce a code of conduct on responsible gambling sponsorship.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the cross-sport Code of Conduct is (a) robust and (b) workable in practice; and what lessons she has learnt from the application of CAP code 2.1 for regulation of breaches of the Code.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All domestic sports governing bodies have agreed to four core principles underpinning the cross-sport Code of Conduct on gambling sponsorship: (i) protecting children and young people (ii) socially responsible promotion (iii) reinvestment into sport (iv) maintaining sporting integrity. These principles put in place a robust minimum standard for sponsorship across all sports. Through the code, a proportion of in-stadia advertising will be dedicated to safer gambling messaging, and replica kits for adults will be made available without gambling logos, alongside the existing requirements for childrens’ replica kits.
Sports governing bodies must have sufficient flexibility to implement these principles in a way which maximises impact for the sports and their fans. Bespoke, sport-specific Codes are currently being designed by individual sports governing bodies, and will be implemented in due course. The Premier League and English Football League plan to have their Codes in place by next season. DCMS will continue to work closely with sports on their implementation and enforcement practices.
As a licence condition, gambling operators must comply with the restrictions set out in the Advertising Codes, which includes robust rules under section 2 regulating the recognition of marketing communications. Under these rules, marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such and make clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from the context. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) can and does take action against breaches, and a recent ruling can be found here. Operators are liable to enforcement action from the Gambling Commission if affiliates which they pay to carry out marketing activities do not comply with the rules.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of self-regulation by the sporting industry in reducing the quantity of gambling messaging seen by viewers.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while recognising that advertising is an entirely legitimate commercial practice for responsible gambling firms.
We have welcomed the industry's whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting adverts during live sports programmes. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced the quantity of gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes.
Further, alongside the Premier League’s announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts by the end of the 2025/26 season, the gambling white paper commitment for a cross-sport Code of Conduct for gambling sponsorship has now been agreed by a number of the country’s major sports governing bodies. This will guarantee that where gambling sponsorship does appear, it is done in a responsible way to ensure fans, especially children, are better protected. This code will include provisions to ensure replica shirts for both children and adults are available without front-of-shirt gambling logos and a proportion of in-stadia advertising is dedicated to safer gambling messaging.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that the sporting industry complies with voluntary or self-regulatory measures to prevent gambling harms.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The gambling White Paper, published in April 2023, set out plans for sports bodies to take a responsible approach to gambling sponsorship through the adoption of a cross-sport Code of Conduct. The Code will guarantee a robust minimum standard on gambling sponsorship across all sports, ensuring that when gambling sponsorship does appear, it is done so in a socially responsible way. Work is underway to develop and implement the Code, ensuring that provisions meet the Government’s objectives while being sufficiently tailored to the material differences between sports. We expect compliance with a Code of Conduct to be guaranteed from within sports themselves through enforcement by governing bodies, and we are working together to identify the most effective way to achieve this.
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, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of (a) voluntary and (b) self-regulatory efforts to limit the number of gambling advertisements.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while recognising that advertising is an entirely legitimate commercial practice for responsible gambling firms.
There are robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and that it cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. This includes specific licence conditions for operators, including the requirement to abide by the UK Advertising Codes, which further regulate how gambling operators advertise. The UK Advertising Codes were strengthened in 2022, with new protections for children and vulnerable adults.
Voluntary measures on advertising implemented through the IGRG Code (now in its 7th edition) include a watershed ban on gambling adverts and ensuring operators’ advertising on social media platforms is targeted away from anyone below the age of 25.
We also welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, which was agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes. We also welcomed the Premier League’s announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts by the end of the 2025/26 season, and are working with a wider group of sports governing bodies to introduce a Code of Conduct on responsible gambling sponsorship.
Earlier this year, HM Government published a White Paper on gambling which outlined a comprehensive package of reforms to make gambling safer. This included measures to tackle the most aggressive and harmful advertising practices by preventing bonuses being constructed and targeted in harmful ways, giving customers more control over the marketing they receive, and introducing messaging about the risks associated with gambling.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on developing a sponsorship code of conduct that all sporting bodies must adhere to when accepting sponsorship form the gambling industry.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS has been working with representatives from the sports sector, including sports governing bodies, to agree a new code of conduct for socially responsible gambling sponsorship. We hope to make further announcements once the code is finalised and agreed early next year.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the University of Bristol research paper entitled, The prevalence of gambling adverts during the opening weekend of the English Premier League 2023-23, published 2024; and if she will take legislative steps to reduce the number of gambling adverts shown during football matches.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - 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. In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while still allowing sports bodies and others to benefit commercially from deals with responsible gambling firms. There are robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes. We also welcomed the Premier League’s announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts, and are working with a wider group of sports governing bodies to introduce a Code of Conduct on responsible gambling sponsorship.
We continue to monitor research, and have carefully considered the findings in the study by the University of Bristol. Furthermore, we are introducing a statutory levy charged to gambling operators which will raise trusted, long-term funding for gambling research. We are clear that we will continue to look carefully at any further research that results from that and take action if necessary.
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, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the whistle-to-whistle ban on gambling advertising in football on the number of gambling messages displayed throughout televised football matches.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes, with a 96% reduction in gambling TV advertising specifically during the restricted period.
As part of the Gambling review, consideration was given to a range of restrictions on gambling advertising. As set out in the white paper we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising and that which is most likely to appeal to children, while still allowing sports bodies to benefit commercially from deals with responsible gambling firms.
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 her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of implementing a ban on gambling advertising on all parts of football kits.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes, with a 96% reduction in gambling TV advertising specifically during the restricted period.
As part of the Gambling review, consideration was given to a range of restrictions on gambling advertising. As set out in the white paper we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising and that which is most likely to appeal to children, while still allowing sports bodies to benefit commercially from deals with responsible gambling firms.