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 support provided by major online gambling companies to tackle problem gambling.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
HM Government recognises the role the industry can play in supporting efforts to tackle problem gambling. Operators are required by the Gambling Commission to monitor play to detect customers who are at risk of harm, to intervene to prevent harm, to provide safer gambling tools and self-exclusion schemes including Gamstop, and to direct them to safer gambling information and support.
We welcome recent steps taken to raise standards across the sector, such as the Betting & Gaming Council’s codes of conduct on high value customer schemes and online product design. Gambling operators licensed by the Gambling Commission are also required to make a contribution to fund research, prevention or treatment of problem gambling. The Government secured a commitment from five major operators to increase their contributions tenfold over 4 years, from 0.1% to 1% of Gross Gambling Yield, raising £100 million for treatment by 2023/24.
The Government is also taking action to tackle problem gambling. Following recent measures such as the ban on credit card gambling and the commitment to increase the number of specialist NHS clinics, we are reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age. We are considering the evidence carefully and aim to publish a white paper outlining any conclusions and proposals for reform by the end of the year.
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 estimate they have made of the number of adult gaming centres that have ceased trading during the past twelve months.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The government recognises that the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be extremely challenging for businesses, including the arcades sector.
We are continuing to work with organisations in the land-based gambling sector to understand the impacts and how the government may be able to support them. Currently, we estimate that up to 5% of adult gaming centres have ceased trading in the past twelve months. This estimate is based on recent discussions with Bacta, the trade association for the arcades sector.
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 how many adult gaming centres are currently in operation in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Data held by the Gambling Commission shows that there were 1,431 adult gaming centres in operation as of 31 March 2020.
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 how many adult gaming centres are currently in operation in the UK; and how many such centres were in operation in (1) June 2017, and (2) June 2018.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The latest figures for the number of Adult Gaming Centre premises are from September 2018. The figures for each year are given in the table below.
Number of Adult Gaming Centre Premises | ||||||||
At 31 March 2011 | At 31 March 2012 | At 31 March 2013 | At 31 March 2014 | At 31 March 2015 | At 31 March 2016 | At 31 March 2017 | At 31 March 2018 | At 30 Sept 2018 |
2,103 | 2,247 | 1,671 | 1,642 | 1,610 | 1,549 | 1,546 | 1,511 | 1,436 |
More information can be found in the Gambling Commission’s industry statistics at https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics/Industry-statistics.aspx