Found: Letter from Carolyn Harris MP, Chair, APPG for Gambling Related Harm, relating to Gambling regulation

Found: -related harm ”, accessed 17 November 2023 20 Q2517 Gambling regulation 4.

Found: And advisers can say look this is the best way to go for the industry, if you want to reduce gambling

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent ombudsman to enforce gambling operators’ duty of care.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Following the Government’s review of the Gambling Act 2005, and the Gambling White Paper, published in April 2023, we are introducing a package of measures to further prevent gambling-related harm, including a commitment to establish a non-statutory ombudsman to strengthen protections for customers where things go wrong. The body will adjudicate complaints, including those relating to social responsibility or gambling harm, where an operator is not able to.

We are working at pace with industry and all stakeholders in the sector, including the Ombudsman Association, to ensure customers have access to an ombudsman that is fully operationally independent in line with Ombudsman Association standards, and is fully credible in the eyes of customers. As set out in the white paper, it is important that the body adjudicates fairly and transparently all complaints regarding social responsibility or gambling harm issues where an operator is not able to resolve these.

We remain clear that if this approach does not deliver as we expect, or shortcomings emerge regarding the ombudsman’s remit, powers or relationship with industry, the government will actively explore the full range of options to legislate to create a statutory ombudsman.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with banks on (a) limits on spending for gambling addicts and (b) issuing loans to gambling addicts.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the important role banks and other financial services can play in supporting efforts to tackle gambling related harm.

Around 90% of retail bank accounts and an increasing number of payment providers now offer opt-in gambling blocks, which can be used to manage customers’ gambling spend. The Government welcomes industry-led improvements to these tools. For example, we are aware some providers have made the gambling management tools more customisable, allowing customers to set gambling spending limits or block all transactions entirely.

Regarding loans to people with gambling addictions, protecting vulnerable consumers is a key priority for the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates the consumer credit market. Under FCA rules, firms undertaking creditworthiness assessments must assess whether a customer will repay, but also the customer’s ability to repay affordably and without significantly affecting their wider financial situation.

Officials meet regularly with the FCA and banks to discuss these issues.

In April 2020, the Gambling Commission also introduced a ban on using credit cards to gamble to help minimise the risk of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have in place to improve coordination between schools, colleges, universities and support services to better assist students struggling with gambling addiction.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to tackling gambling-related harms. While education settings are not mental health or gambling-related harm specialists, they are well placed to identify where a child or young person is struggling and help them to access support, linking them to NHS support and specialist services as needed.

Where gambling problems are affecting the mental health of young people, our programme of Mental Health Support Teams and senior mental health lead training supports schools and colleges to identify individuals in need of further support and make effective referrals to external agencies, to help young people get appropriate, timely support.

The department works closely with the higher education (HE) sector to promote and fund effective mental health support for university students. £15 million of funding this year from the Office for Students (OfS) will go to mental health support and the OfS-funded Student Space continues to provide students with free online mental health resources and confidential support on a range of topics, including addiction support. The OfS has also brought together HE providers and NHS trusts across each region in England to deliver better join up between university wellbeing support and NHS services.

Additionally, schools, colleges and universities have access to the NHS webpage 'Help for problem gambling'. This covers common indicators which could help identify whether individuals may be experiencing gambling-related harm, as well as providing initial signposting to the sources of support available to those in need. A link to the webpage can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/gambling-addiction/.

As part of the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to expand geographical coverage of treatment for those experiencing gambling-related harm, the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London offers specialist treatment and support for children and young people.

The government White Paper ‘High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age’, published in April 2023, announced the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. This presents an opportunity to consider how best to improve awareness and understanding of gambling-related harms amongst young people, and how to ensure availability of effective support across all educational settings.

Found: - related harm.

Found: quickly to implement our measures, the government’s commitment to strengthening protections against gambling-related

Found: -related harm as either low-risk, moderate -risk or problem gambling.

Found: The evidence also points to a stronger link between gambling related harm and suicide among young adults

Found: We believe these limits will achieve the government’ s stated objectives of reducing the risk of gambling-related

Found: Understanding gambling related harm: a proposed definition, conceptual framework, and taxonomy of harms