Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of implementing a ban on gambling advertising on all parts of football kits.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes, with a 96% reduction in gambling TV advertising specifically during the restricted period.
As part of the Gambling review, consideration was given to a range of restrictions on gambling advertising. As set out in the white paper we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising and that which is most likely to appeal to children, while still allowing sports bodies to benefit commercially from deals with responsible gambling firms.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Prime Minister has made of the effectiveness of the re-formed Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Prime Minister has refocused the department, recognising the importance of the cultural, media and sport sectors to our economy and to build on the UK’s position as a world leader in the creative industries. Our cultural, media, sporting, Creative Industries and charity sectors are worth £145 billion (8% of UK GVA) and support almost four million jobs.
Since February 2023, the department has continued to effectively deliver on the Government’s priority to grow the economy, and create better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country. As an example, in June 2023 the department published the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which set out our ambition to grow the creative industries by £50 billion and support a million more jobs by 2030, with £77 million of new funding for the sector announced.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has also supported additional government priorities, including the delivery of major events like the King’s Coronation and Eurovision, contributing to the government’s substantive legislative programme with the draft Media Bill, a Football White Paper and a Gambling White Paper, and increasing investment in our cultural and creative sectors, grassroots sports facilities, youth programmes, and supporting our charitable and leisure sectors with the increased cost of living.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help prevent addiction to gambling among young people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that it is particularly important to take steps to protect young people at risk of gambling harms and addiction.
We recently published a white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005, and are working with the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to bring these measures into force as soon as possible, subject to further consultation where appropriate. The paper introduces a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected, including young people. These include strengthening the land-based age verification regime, especially around gaming machines in pubs, bringing society lotteries and football pools into line with the National Lottery by raising the minimum age to 18, and putting new expectations on operators to consider age as a potential factor in customer vulnerability.
Over recent years, the Government has worked with the Gambling Commission and others on a range of measures to protect young people from gambling related harm. 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. Last year the Committees of Advertising Practice updated advertising rules so that gambling adverts cannot have strong appeal to children even if they appeal more to adults.
In addition to these regulatory changes, specific steps have been taken to prevent and treat gambling harm in young people. Since September 2020, teaching young people about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt, has been included in the curriculum for all schools under Health Education in all state-funded schools, alongside Relationships Education (primary) and Relationships and Sex Education (secondary). In 2019 the NHS young person gambling addiction service was also launched.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to ban all gambling sponsorships in association football.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
On 27 April we published our white paper setting out our conclusions and next steps on gambling advertising and sponsorship, as well as other issues in the broad scope of our Gambling Act Review.
The Gambling Commission requires all marketing activities by gambling operators, including sport sponsorships, to be undertaken in a socially responsible fashion. To ensure high standards for gambling sponsorship across the sport sector, the government will continue to support the sector’s efforts to implement standards for social responsibility through a cross-sport Code of Conduct.
We also welcome the Premier League’s recent announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts, bringing sponsorship in line with recent rule changes from the Advertising Standards Authority preventing Premier League players from appearing in gambling adverts.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on domestic rates of gambling-related harms.
Answered by Paul Scully
A variety of initiatives are in place across the gambling regulatory framework and health services to protect individuals and the public from harmful gambling and raise awareness of its risks.
The Gambling Commission requires all gambling operators to make information available to customers on how to gamble safely and how to access information on problem gambling and the support available. Most operators signpost to the charity GambleAware’s begambleaware.org site, which contains a wide range of information on risks as well as links to advice and support, including the 24 hour National Gambling Helpline. The NHS webpage 'Help for problem gambling' covers common indicators which suggest that individuals may be experiencing harmful gambling, and the NHS Live Well page on gambling has been updated, providing information on gambling-related harms and signposting to sources of support.
The Department for Health and Social Care is also taking steps to improve and expand specialist treatment services available for people with a gambling addiction. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, £15m has been committed to establish 15 clinics by 2023/24. Seven specialist clinics are already open and accepting patients. DHSC has committed to undertake an audit of gambling-related harm training materials for healthcare professionals to build capability in the healthcare workforce.
There have also been a number of recent voluntary and regulatory initiatives to reduce the visibility of gambling around major sporting events. The gambling industry’s ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban, prevents gambling ads from airing during and immediately before or after live sports coverage before 9pm. Further to this, the Advertising Standards Authority recently implemented tough new rules banning content with ‘strong appeal to children’ from gambling ads, including top-flight and UK national team footballers. GambleAware have also launched a new phase of their ‘Bet Regret’ campaign for the tournament providing increased signposting to support for gambling harm around the 2022 World Cup.
Evidence on the impacts of gambling advertising, including sponsorship around sports, is being closely considered as part of the government's Review of the Gambling Act. A white paper will be published in the coming weeks outlining our conclusions and next steps.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support is in place to protect those affected by gambling harm during the FIFA World Cup.
Answered by Paul Scully
A variety of initiatives are in place across the gambling regulatory framework and health services to protect individuals and the public from harmful gambling and raise awareness of its risks.
The Gambling Commission requires all gambling operators to make information available to customers on how to gamble safely and how to access information on problem gambling and the support available. Most operators signpost to the charity GambleAware’s begambleaware.org site, which contains a wide range of information on risks as well as links to advice and support, including the 24 hour National Gambling Helpline. The NHS webpage 'Help for problem gambling' covers common indicators which suggest that individuals may be experiencing harmful gambling, and the NHS Live Well page on gambling has been updated, providing information on gambling-related harms and signposting to sources of support.
The Department for Health and Social Care is also taking steps to improve and expand specialist treatment services available for people with a gambling addiction. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, £15m has been committed to establish 15 clinics by 2023/24. Seven specialist clinics are already open and accepting patients. DHSC has committed to undertake an audit of gambling-related harm training materials for healthcare professionals to build capability in the healthcare workforce.
There have also been a number of recent voluntary and regulatory initiatives to reduce the visibility of gambling around major sporting events. The gambling industry’s ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban, prevents gambling ads from airing during and immediately before or after live sports coverage before 9pm. Further to this, the Advertising Standards Authority recently implemented tough new rules banning content with ‘strong appeal to children’ from gambling ads, including top-flight and UK national team footballers. GambleAware have also launched a new phase of their ‘Bet Regret’ campaign for the tournament providing increased signposting to support for gambling harm around the 2022 World Cup.
Evidence on the impacts of gambling advertising, including sponsorship around sports, is being closely considered as part of the government's Review of the Gambling Act. A white paper will be published in the coming weeks outlining our conclusions and next steps.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much from the public purse her Department has spent on (a) staff activity, (b) external research and advice, (c) public consultation and (d) stakeholder engagement on the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance and associated proposed legislation since April 2021.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Figures on DCMS’s public spending can be found in DCMS’s Annual Report and Accounts, available on GOV.UK. Spending on the Fan Led Review and associated proposed legislation is a subset of the reported spend of the Sport, Gambling and Ceremonials Directorate.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the nature of the financial relationship between the EFL and SkyBet.
Answered by Paul Scully
Football clubs can enter a wide variety of commercial partnerships and all partnerships with gambling operators must be conducted in a socially responsible fashion and never target children or vulnerable people. Sky Bet’s title sponsorship of the EFL is a long-standing commercial arrangement established in 2013 with the current contract running to 2024. The arrangement includes a number of social responsibility commitments, such as ensuring there is no branding in family areas of the stadia and mandatory inclusion of safer gambling messaging on kits and in stadia.
Gambling sponsorship and the relationship between sports and gambling is included in the scope of the government's wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act. A White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps will be published in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to prevent football clubs making money from gambling losses.
Answered by Damian Collins
Football clubs can enter a wide variety of commercial partnerships but all partnerships with gambling operators must be conducted in a socially responsible fashion and never target children or vulnerable people.
Specifically the EFL and its clubs operated an affiliate scheme as part of their partnership with Sky Bet from 2013 to the 2019/20 season. The scheme has not been active since the 2019/20 season and the Department does not hold detailed estimates of club revenues.
The current impact of gambling sponsorship in sports is in scope of the government's wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act. We are considering the evidence closely and a white paper setting out our conclusions and next steps will be published in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of EFL football clubs receiving from bookmakers a share of money lost by their fans while betting.
Answered by Damian Collins
Football clubs can enter a wide variety of commercial partnerships but all partnerships with gambling operators must be conducted in a socially responsible fashion and never target children or vulnerable people.
Specifically the EFL and its clubs operated an affiliate scheme as part of their partnership with Sky Bet from 2013 to the 2019/20 season. The scheme has not been active since the 2019/20 season and the Department does not hold detailed estimates of club revenues.
The current impact of gambling sponsorship in sports is in scope of the government's wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act. We are considering the evidence closely and a white paper setting out our conclusions and next steps will be published in the coming weeks.