Young People: Gambling Harm

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Thursday 23rd July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, for this very important debate. I also welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Twycross, back to her place.

First, it is important to define what is meant by young people. Those under the age of 18 are classed as children and, despite the Government’s incoherence on this in other policy areas, gambling remains prohibited for children. Adults aged 18 to 25, on the other hand, are free to gamble but with additional safeguards such as financial vulnerability checks, deposit limit prompts and other age-targeted restrictions.

The previous Government were proactive in tackling issues related to gambling. In 2019, a gambling clinic for those aged 13 to 25 was introduced as part of the NHS long-term plan. We published a review of the Gambling Act 2005 in December 2020 to assess whether it provided the right balance. In 2023 the gambling White Paper sought to strengthen protections for children and young adults significantly, including through the statutory levy and stake limits on online slots.

That is not to say that there are no longer any problems. More than 16% of calls to the National Gambling Helpline came from those aged 18 to 25. Technology is constantly evolving, and co-operation with the sector is crucial.

However, the regulated sector is itself threatened by the illegal gambling market, whose operators can advertise without any of the protections mentioned in your Lordships’ House. According to forecasts from the World Advertising Research Center, advertising spend by licensed operators is expected to decrease by more than 9% this year, while spend by unregulated operators is projected to grow by 32%. By 2028, this could mean that illegal firms account for the majority of gambling advertising spend. That is why any government action to tackle the issues must be thought through.

A strong legal betting market can also provide notable benefits—for example, accumulated spend by betting companies in horseracing is around £20 million on direct sponsorship and £165 million on marketing. Media rights, sponsorship and the horserace betting levy together contribute around £350 million every year to British horseracing. We therefore do not want to drive more gambling activity into the illegal market and negatively impact other industries and legal sports.

The Gambling Commission found a 3% increase in the number of 11 to 17 year-olds participating in unregulated gambling between 2024 and 2025. This can be just a bet between friends, but children can also be targeted with advertisements via social media. We on these Benches have argued for a social media ban for under-16s that would remove children’s exposure to advertisements on unregulated sites. I would appreciate it if the Minister could give us on an update on the Government’s progress in finally implementing a social media ban.

In addition, will the funds raised by the statutory levy, which came into force last year, be used for an evidence-based response to the issues raised by noble Lords today? What other steps are the Government taking to crack down on the black market? I am grateful for the valuable insights of noble Lords to this debate and I look forward to the Minister’s response.