Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the gambling industry on young people under 18 using fake ID to take part in online gambling.

The Government recognises that it is particularly important to take steps to protect young people at risk of harms associated with online gambling.

The Gambling Act review considered the efficacy of protections for children and young adults, including on age controls for online gambling. Evidence submitted as part of the review, and Gambling Commission surveys show low rates of illegal underage gambling with online operators. When this does occur, it is generally through misuse of an adult’s account or details rather than a failure of the verification process.

While the current rules require online operators to verify a customer’s age before they are allowed to deposit money or gamble, they do not specify how this has to be done. Most operators use background checks to verify age and identity, rather than relying on the provision of identity documentation. There is little evidence to suggest widespread use of fake documentation by underage adults to access online gambling.

We recently published a white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005. The paper introduces a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products that can drive harm, particularly among young people.

Over recent years, the Government has worked with the Gambling Commission and others on a range of measures to protect young people from harms associated with online gambling. This includes tightening the age verification requirements for both land-based and online operators in 2019, and raising the minimum age to play the National Lottery to 18 and over in 2021.