Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of (a) problem gambling and (b) gambling addiction on acquisitive crime.

The Home Office has not undertaken an assessment.

The Modern Crime Prevention Strategy published in March 2016 sets out how we analyse and respond to crime through the consideration of six drivers of crime (opportunity, character, effectiveness of the criminal justice system, profit, drugs and alcohol). This includes looking at new and emerging trends in acquisitive crime where we work closely with the police and relevant industry leads. While there are various studies suggesting that the prevalence of gambling is higher in offenders than the general population, the issue of problem gambling and gambling addiction has not been raised as a specific issue during our conversations about acquisitive crime with the police and others.