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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of the Gaming Machine (Circumstances of Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I., 2015, No. 121) on (a) gambling addiction levels, (b) the total amount of money staked and (c) the profits of bookmakers and fixed odds betting terminal providers.

The Gaming Machine (Circumstances of Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I., 2015 No. 121) were laid alongside an Impact Assessment carried out by DCMS (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/69/pdfs/ukia_20150069_en.pdf). In assessing the potential impact, the Impact Assessment took into account problem gambling levels as measured by Health Surveys for England and Scotland, the potential impact on staking behaviour and the profits of bookmakers.