Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent betting companies from being sponsors of Premier League football clubs.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is looking closely at the evidence regarding the impacts of sports sponsorship by gambling operators, including in the Premier League, as part of the wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps 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, what estimate the Government has made of the value of front-of-shirt football team sponsorships by cryptocurrency platforms.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
I am aware of the growth in commercial partnerships between cryptocurrencies and professional sport. On 18 January 2022, the government set out its intention to legislate later this year to bring certain cryptoassets into financial promotion regulation. The FCA has also publicly consulted on its detailed rules for the regime. This would ensure that relevant cryptoasset promotions are held to the same high standards for fairness, clarity and accuracy that pertain in the financial services industry.
Cryptocurrencies are not within the legal definition of gambling in themselves and therefore are not in scope of the Gambling Act Review.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide redress to the people affected by the collapse of BetIndex Limited, the operators of Football Index.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government appreciates the significant impact that the collapse of the novel gambling product Football Index had on former customers. BetIndex, the company which operated Football Index, went into liquidation on 5 November. The process is continuing and it is likely that this will result in some amounts being reimbursed to creditors. There is no compensation scheme for losses caused by a gambling firm ceasing to operate and the government does not think it would be appropriate to use public funds for these purposes.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to improve co-operation between the Financial Conduct Authority and the Gambling Commission.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport worked closely with their counterparts at the Treasury to discuss the collapse of BetIndex, the role of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in this case, the independent review conducted by Malcolm Sheehan QC and the lessons learnt that were identified by the review.
Following the publication of the review, the Gambling Commission updated its framework for risk based regulation so that product novelty is properly considered alongside other factors in determining the level of scrutiny an operator is placed under.
The review also clearly states that the FCA’s concluded position was that no part of Football Index fell within the FCA’s remit on legal grounds. Only one company is currently regulated by both the Gambling Commission and the FCA. The Commission continues to be vigilant about emerging products and operators and, under the terms of the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the FCA, identify and highlight the potential need for its involvement wherever necessary.
The FCA and the Gambling Commission strengthened their Memorandum of Understanding in response to Mr Sheehan’s recommendations in the independent review, including establishing new escalation routes and commitments on timeliness of responses to ensure regulatory impasses are identified and overcome quickly. The FCA has additionally nominated an Executive Director to oversee its relationship with the Commission.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many companies does the Gambling Commission dual regulate with the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport worked closely with their counterparts at the Treasury to discuss the collapse of BetIndex, the role of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in this case, the independent review conducted by Malcolm Sheehan QC and the lessons learnt that were identified by the review.
Following the publication of the review, the Gambling Commission updated its framework for risk based regulation so that product novelty is properly considered alongside other factors in determining the level of scrutiny an operator is placed under.
The review also clearly states that the FCA’s concluded position was that no part of Football Index fell within the FCA’s remit on legal grounds. Only one company is currently regulated by both the Gambling Commission and the FCA. The Commission continues to be vigilant about emerging products and operators and, under the terms of the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the FCA, identify and highlight the potential need for its involvement wherever necessary.
The FCA and the Gambling Commission strengthened their Memorandum of Understanding in response to Mr Sheehan’s recommendations in the independent review, including establishing new escalation routes and commitments on timeliness of responses to ensure regulatory impasses are identified and overcome quickly. The FCA has additionally nominated an Executive Director to oversee its relationship with the Commission.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 potential merits for gambling regulation of requiring the Gambling Commission to assess the novelty of an (a) operator or (b) product when conducting scrutiny.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport worked closely with their counterparts at the Treasury to discuss the collapse of BetIndex, the role of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in this case, the independent review conducted by Malcolm Sheehan QC and the lessons learnt that were identified by the review.
Following the publication of the review, the Gambling Commission updated its framework for risk based regulation so that product novelty is properly considered alongside other factors in determining the level of scrutiny an operator is placed under.
The review also clearly states that the FCA’s concluded position was that no part of Football Index fell within the FCA’s remit on legal grounds. Only one company is currently regulated by both the Gambling Commission and the FCA. The Commission continues to be vigilant about emerging products and operators and, under the terms of the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the FCA, identify and highlight the potential need for its involvement wherever necessary.
The FCA and the Gambling Commission strengthened their Memorandum of Understanding in response to Mr Sheehan’s recommendations in the independent review, including establishing new escalation routes and commitments on timeliness of responses to ensure regulatory impasses are identified and overcome quickly. The FCA has additionally nominated an Executive Director to oversee its relationship with the Commission.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her officials have had with their counterparts at the Treasury on the actions of the Financial Conduct Authority with regards to its regulation of BetIndex Limited.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport worked closely with their counterparts at the Treasury to discuss the collapse of BetIndex, the role of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in this case, the independent review conducted by Malcolm Sheehan QC and the lessons learnt that were identified by the review.
Following the publication of the review, the Gambling Commission updated its framework for risk based regulation so that product novelty is properly considered alongside other factors in determining the level of scrutiny an operator is placed under.
The review also clearly states that the FCA’s concluded position was that no part of Football Index fell within the FCA’s remit on legal grounds. Only one company is currently regulated by both the Gambling Commission and the FCA. The Commission continues to be vigilant about emerging products and operators and, under the terms of the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the FCA, identify and highlight the potential need for its involvement wherever necessary.
The FCA and the Gambling Commission strengthened their Memorandum of Understanding in response to Mr Sheehan’s recommendations in the independent review, including establishing new escalation routes and commitments on timeliness of responses to ensure regulatory impasses are identified and overcome quickly. The FCA has additionally nominated an Executive Director to oversee its relationship with the Commission.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department first received correspondence from the Gambling Commission on its investigation into Football Index.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first piece of correspondence from the Gambling Commission alerting DCMS to the BetIndex Limited case was an email to officials on the 10th of March 2021.
Since then ministers and officials have had a number of meetings with the Gambling Commission on the case, the independent review, and lessons learnt. Records of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and are available on gov.uk.
Officials at the Advertising Standards Authority and DCMS have discussed the Betindex case periodically since the company’s collapse in March 2021, but there has been no written correspondence on it.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
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 implications for her policies of the proposals for changes to Gambling Commission fees published by the independent review of the regulation of BetIndex Limited in June 2021.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Gambling Act Review is taking a close look at how the Gambling Commission licence fees are set and we are considering all the evidence carefully, including the conclusions of the independent review of the regulation BetIndex Ltd, the operator of Football Index, which we published in September. We will publish a White Paper outlining our conclusions and proposals for reform in the coming months.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
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 potential merits of introducing a statutory timeframe for the review of the Gambling Commission’s licence fees.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Gambling Act Review is taking a close look at how the Gambling Commission licence fees are set and we are considering all the evidence carefully, including the conclusions of the independent review of the regulation BetIndex Ltd, the operator of Football Index, which we published in September. We will publish a White Paper outlining our conclusions and proposals for reform in the coming months.