Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether age-verification tools used by gambling operators and social media platforms are effective in preventing children seeing gambling promotions.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

We are committed to taking action on illegal gambling. This includes working with tech platforms and social media companies through our Illegal Gambling Taskforce, to help tackle the advertising of illegal gambling. We plan to report on the progress made by the Illegal Gambling Taskforce once it has completed its first year.

Advertising of gambling products and services, including on social media, must be carried out in a socially responsible way. Advertising codes also require operators to ensure targeting is used responsibly, utilising tools available on platforms to exclude under-18s and other vulnerable groups from exposure wherever possible.

The Online Advertising Taskforce supports the aims of DCMS to improve transparency and accountability in the online advertising supply chain. It will deliver a programme of work to help address illegal advertising and minimise children being served advertising for products and services illegal to sell to them.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what role the illegal gambling taskforce is playing in coordinating action with major technology companies to identify, remove and prevent access to illegal gambling content online.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

We are committed to taking action on illegal gambling. This includes working with tech platforms and social media companies through our Illegal Gambling Taskforce, to help tackle the advertising of illegal gambling. We plan to report on the progress made by the Illegal Gambling Taskforce once it has completed its first year.

Advertising of gambling products and services, including on social media, must be carried out in a socially responsible way. Advertising codes also require operators to ensure targeting is used responsibly, utilising tools available on platforms to exclude under-18s and other vulnerable groups from exposure wherever possible.

The Online Advertising Taskforce supports the aims of DCMS to improve transparency and accountability in the online advertising supply chain. It will deliver a programme of work to help address illegal advertising and minimise children being served advertising for products and services illegal to sell to them.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to amending the Online Safety Act 2023 to include provisions regarding the promotion or facilitation of illegal gambling content

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The UK has a comprehensive regulatory framework for gambling, overseen by the Gambling Commission, including powers to tackle illegal gambling and unlicensed operators.

We are tackling the illegal market through work with industry and platforms via the Illegal Gambling Taskforce and by providing an additional £26 million to the Gambling Commission over the next three years.

The Online Safety Act 2023 complements this, requiring in-scope services to mitigate the risk of illegal content and activity on their platforms. Where gambling related content is illegal, services must take proportionate measures to prevent users encountering it and swiftly address it when identified.

Found: • The bill’s sponsor, Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, said life for many boat dwellers