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 implications for her policies of organisations that claim to uphold gambling standards representing companies that are being investigated for black market activities.

All gambling companies offering gambling facilities to consumers in Great Britain, wherever they are based, must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions and codes of practice of their operating licences. Operators are expected to obey the laws of all other jurisdictions in which they operate, and must report any regulatory or criminal investigation into their activities in any jurisdiction to the Commission. Operators must also report the granting, withdrawal or refusal of any application for a licence in another jurisdiction. These requirements, along with the international cooperation the Commission enjoys with other gambling regulators, enable the Commission to make the necessary ongoing assessments of an operator’s suitability to hold a GB licence. It is for the responsible authorities in each jurisdiction to determine whether operators’ activities comply with the applicable rules.

Further information on what the Gambling Commission expects from its licensed operators regarding their operations in other jurisdictions can be found in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice:

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/lccp/condition/15-2-1-reporting-key-events

Our Review of the Gambling Act 2005 is looking widely at the framework of gambling regulation in Great Britain, including the powers and resources of the Gambling Commission.