Gambling and Lotteries

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton Excerpts

Monday 14th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The Advertising Standards Authority has strict rules on gambling advertising that apply across the UK—so not just GB but also Northern Ireland. They make it clear that the advertisements must be socially responsible and must never target vulnerable people. As I mentioned in an earlier answer, the ASA is currently in the process of consulting on these rules to further minimise the potential for harm from advertising being accessed by vulnerable people.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, so that others can get in, I shall be brief. Can my noble friend point to any evidence on whether, following the action taken by the Government in October on the VIP schemes, there has been a material impact?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for his brief question, and I will try to give an equally brief answer. We understand that the number of customers in VIP schemes has fallen by 70% since the commission challenged the industry back in October 2019 and the formal Gambling Commission rules for these schemes came into force at the end of October this year.

Sport Sector: Financial Support

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton Excerpts

Wednesday 25th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. As I mentioned to the noble Lord, Lord Razzall, we have had confirmation that so far the ECB has the means to support all the counties over the winter. We are in conversations with the ECB and it would be eligible to apply to the contingency fund—but obviously the best thing for all sports will be to open up and get spectators back as quickly as possible. But I would be more than happy to follow up with the noble Lord directly on his suggestion in relation to individual clubs.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

I draw noble Lords’ attention to my interests in the register and I join at the crease the noble Lords, Lord Botham and Lord Razzall. My appeal is not for money but for common sense. In that spirit, will my noble friend ensure that the Government are not overly prescriptive in the measures required to allow a few hundred spectators to attend a game of county cricket? My genuine fear is that the cost of doing so may outweigh both the mental well-being benefit and the financial benefit to the clubs.

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

My noble friend is absolutely right about the value of sport in terms of both physical and mental health. Obviously, with cricket being a summer sport, things may look very different next summer, but the current limits of 4,000 outdoor spectators in tier 1 and 2,000 in tier 2 should make a number of these games viable. Obviously, cricket as a sport lends itself to spacing for spectators, and we are truly optimistic that, by the time county cricket restarts, the prospects for normal crowds will be very good.