Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to introduce online gambling affordability assessments as part of the gambling white paper, to be conducted independently of the industry.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government and Gambling Commission are exploring how technology and data can be harnessed in a number of areas to better prevent harmful gambling online. We recognise the role that data sharing could play in supporting interventions across multiple operators, as well as the benefits of considering a player’s financial circumstances as part of a rounded assessment of whether they are at risk of harm. The government’s white paper on the Gambling Act Review will be published in the coming weeks.
It is important that any data-driven protections are proportionate, handle data securely, and are implemented in a way that is acceptable to consumers. Officials from the Department and the Commission have therefore met a range of technology providers to understand potential delivery options, including those which may cause less friction in the customer journey such as checks facilitated by open banking.
The Single Customer View project is currently in a pilot stage with GAMSTOP, which operates the national online self-exclusion scheme, as technical provider. This is taking place within the Information Commissioner’s Office regulatory sandbox, and progress will be closely monitored by Government and regulators. There will be ongoing evaluations once data sharing has started. The Gambling Commission’s most recent update surrounding progress and next steps can be found here, and the Information Commissioner’s update on the sandbox can be found here.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) the Gambling Commission and (b) officials in her Department have met providers of online gambling affordability checks technology for the purposes of understanding the potential merits of alternative approaches to the single customer view project.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government and Gambling Commission are exploring how technology and data can be harnessed in a number of areas to better prevent harmful gambling online. We recognise the role that data sharing could play in supporting interventions across multiple operators, as well as the benefits of considering a player’s financial circumstances as part of a rounded assessment of whether they are at risk of harm. The government’s white paper on the Gambling Act Review will be published in the coming weeks.
It is important that any data-driven protections are proportionate, handle data securely, and are implemented in a way that is acceptable to consumers. Officials from the Department and the Commission have therefore met a range of technology providers to understand potential delivery options, including those which may cause less friction in the customer journey such as checks facilitated by open banking.
The Single Customer View project is currently in a pilot stage with GAMSTOP, which operates the national online self-exclusion scheme, as technical provider. This is taking place within the Information Commissioner’s Office regulatory sandbox, and progress will be closely monitored by Government and regulators. There will be ongoing evaluations once data sharing has started. The Gambling Commission’s most recent update surrounding progress and next steps can be found here, and the Information Commissioner’s update on the sandbox can be found here.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for the Gambling Commission to assess the single customer view technology trial; and whether a range of technology solutions for online gambling affordability assessment will be considered.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government and Gambling Commission are exploring how technology and data can be harnessed in a number of areas to better prevent harmful gambling online. We recognise the role that data sharing could play in supporting interventions across multiple operators, as well as the benefits of considering a player’s financial circumstances as part of a rounded assessment of whether they are at risk of harm. The government’s white paper on the Gambling Act Review will be published in the coming weeks.
It is important that any data-driven protections are proportionate, handle data securely, and are implemented in a way that is acceptable to consumers. Officials from the Department and the Commission have therefore met a range of technology providers to understand potential delivery options, including those which may cause less friction in the customer journey such as checks facilitated by open banking.
The Single Customer View project is currently in a pilot stage with GAMSTOP, which operates the national online self-exclusion scheme, as technical provider. This is taking place within the Information Commissioner’s Office regulatory sandbox, and progress will be closely monitored by Government and regulators. There will be ongoing evaluations once data sharing has started. The Gambling Commission’s most recent update surrounding progress and next steps can be found here, and the Information Commissioner’s update on the sandbox can be found here.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the results of the GAMSTOP single customer view trial will be independently assessed.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In October 2019, the Gambling Commission called on the industry to work together to develop a single customer view which could support interventions across multiple operators to prevent harmful gambling. Operators have appointed GAMSTOP, which operates the national online self-exclusion scheme, as the technical provider for a pilot scheme which is currently progressing within the Information Commissioner’s Office sandbox process. This means the industry’s technical solution can be closely scrutinised by both the ICO and the Gambling Commission. The Commission’s most recent update can be found here and the ICO’s most recent update can be found here. Results from the trials will be released in due course, and we will work closely with both organisations to consider next steps.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the results of the GAMSTOP single customer view trial will be made publicly available.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In October 2019, the Gambling Commission called on the industry to work together to develop a single customer view which could support interventions across multiple operators to prevent harmful gambling. Operators have appointed GAMSTOP, which operates the national online self-exclusion scheme, as the technical provider for a pilot scheme which is currently progressing within the Information Commissioner’s Office sandbox process. This means the industry’s technical solution can be closely scrutinised by both the ICO and the Gambling Commission. The Commission’s most recent update can be found here and the ICO’s most recent update can be found here. Results from the trials will be released in due course, and we will work closely with both organisations to consider next steps.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will introduce an affordability system for gambling, incorporating assessments of average bets and average levels of disposable income, to prevent extreme financial losses and avoidable harm.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government and Gambling Commission recognise the benefits of considering a customer’s financial circumstances as part of an assessment of whether their levels and patterns of spend are likely to be harmful, and also that any such checks need to be proportionate. The Gambling Commission’s consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction (including on issues to do with affordability) received over 13,000 responses and the Commission published an interim update on its website outlining next steps. We will continue to work closely with the Commission on this issue in the run up to publishing our white paper on our Review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the extent to which exposure to gambling advertising is a predictor of (a) at risk and (b) problem gambling among secondary school children.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Public Health England’s evidence review of gambling-related harms did not find any review-level evidence that exposure to advertising is a risk factor for harmful gambling. However, we are aware that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on some groups, such as those who are already experiencing problems with gambling, and there are aspects of advertising which can appeal to children.
While rules are already in place to prevent advertising from causing harm to children and vulnerable people, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has recently implemented strengthened protections for adults who are vulnerable to gambling harm. A further announcement on new rules aimed at reducing the appeal of gambling adverts to children is also expected shortly.
The Government is reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it remains fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the review called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a White Paper outlining conclusions and next steps in the coming months.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential causal relationship between gambling advertising and harm caused by gambling.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Public Health England’s evidence review of gambling-related harms did not find any review-level evidence that exposure to advertising is a risk factor for harmful gambling. However, we are aware that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on some groups, such as those who are already experiencing problems with gambling, and there are aspects of advertising which can appeal to children.
While rules are already in place to prevent advertising from causing harm to children and vulnerable people, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has recently implemented strengthened protections for adults who are vulnerable to gambling harm. A further announcement on new rules aimed at reducing the appeal of gambling adverts to children is also expected shortly.
The Government is reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it remains fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the review called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a White Paper outlining conclusions and next steps in the coming months.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of offering sporting bodies sports betting rights, where gambling companies can be charged a fee for the right to use sporting content and to offer bets on sporting competitions.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government currently has no plans to introduce a requirement for gambling operators to pay a fee or levy to sporting bodies. We are fully supportive of the Horserace Betting Levy, which recognises the symbiotic relationship between horseracing and gambling. This unique relationship is not replicated in other sports, which have a broader appeal beyond gambling. However, we recognise that gambling contributes to the funding of sports by way of media rights, advertising and sponsorship.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the announcement that GAMSTOP, an industry-funded organisation, will be operating a single customer view trial, if she will take steps to ensure that the upcoming Gambling White Paper makes provision for affordability to be assessed by an organisation independent of the industry, which is able to make proactive and informed interventions utilising relevant data.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Gambling Commission received over 13,000 responses to its consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction (including on issues to do with affordability) and has published an interim update on its website outlining next steps. We will continue to work closely with them on affordability in the run up to publishing our White Paper which will set out our vision for the sector.