Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of gambling companies sponsoring sports venues and football clubs.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has committed to a review of the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age. We will announce further details in due course.
Gambling sponsorship of sports teams, and advertising around sport, must be socially responsible and must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. The government has also made clear that sporting bodies must consider their responsibilities to fans when entering commercial arrangements.
The Gambling Commission has issued licences to 2,690 gambling operators. Government does not hold figures on how many of these operators have entered into commercial sponsorship agreements with football clubs but across the 92 clubs in the top four leagues of English football (the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two) 34 clubs had front or back shirt sponsorship deals with gambling operators (some of which sponsor multiple teams) for the current season.
The Football Association has strict rules about the size and placement of sponsor logos on all players’ shirts, and prohibits any reference to gambling or gambling operators on shirts for teams where all players are under 18 years old. It has taken action where the logos of gambling sponsors have been found to breach these rules. The gambling industry code for socially responsible advertising also requires that operators’ logos must not appear on any commercial merchandising which is designed for children (for instance in children’s sizes). In August 2019 the code was amended to include a whistle to whistle ban on broadcast advertising around live sport.
In 2018 and 2019 the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) published strengthened guidance on gambling advertising and the protection of vulnerable people and of children and young people. The guidance makes clear that content likely to appeal particularly to children is unacceptable and explicitly states that gambling advertising cannot feature sports people who are, or appear to be, under 25 years old. The Advertising Standards Agency has also said it will look closely at advertising that features sports personalities who have a significant profile amongst under 18s and will continue to take action where these rules are breached. Further research on the impact of marketing and advertising on children, young people and other vulnerable people, including whether and how advertising influences attitudes to gambling, is due to be published this spring.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the "gamblification" of sport, and (2) the number of gambling companies which sponsor football clubs.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has committed to a review of the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age. We will announce further details in due course.
Gambling sponsorship of sports teams, and advertising around sport, must be socially responsible and must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. The government has also made clear that sporting bodies must consider their responsibilities to fans when entering commercial arrangements.
The Gambling Commission has issued licences to 2,690 gambling operators. Government does not hold figures on how many of these operators have entered into commercial sponsorship agreements with football clubs but across the 92 clubs in the top four leagues of English football (the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two) 34 clubs had front or back shirt sponsorship deals with gambling operators (some of which sponsor multiple teams) for the current season.
The Football Association has strict rules about the size and placement of sponsor logos on all players’ shirts, and prohibits any reference to gambling or gambling operators on shirts for teams where all players are under 18 years old. It has taken action where the logos of gambling sponsors have been found to breach these rules. The gambling industry code for socially responsible advertising also requires that operators’ logos must not appear on any commercial merchandising which is designed for children (for instance in children’s sizes). In August 2019 the code was amended to include a whistle to whistle ban on broadcast advertising around live sport.
In 2018 and 2019 the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) published strengthened guidance on gambling advertising and the protection of vulnerable people and of children and young people. The guidance makes clear that content likely to appeal particularly to children is unacceptable and explicitly states that gambling advertising cannot feature sports people who are, or appear to be, under 25 years old. The Advertising Standards Agency has also said it will look closely at advertising that features sports personalities who have a significant profile amongst under 18s and will continue to take action where these rules are breached. Further research on the impact of marketing and advertising on children, young people and other vulnerable people, including whether and how advertising influences attitudes to gambling, is due to be published this spring.
Asked by: Stephen Flynn (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to review the relationship between gambling companies and English football.
Answered by Nigel Adams
It is right that sporting organisations have the freedom to benefit commercially from their products and negotiate their own broadcasting and sponsorship deals.
But such organisations also have an important role to ensure the agreements they enter into are socially responsible and not detrimental to their fans. Gambling operators too are obliged to ensure that all their sponsorship and marketing activity is done responsibly and never targeted at children or vulnerable people.
The Government has committed to a further review of the Gambling Act to ensure it remains fit for the digital age. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Flynn (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many fines the Gambling Commission has issued to gambling businesses that sponsor Premier League football clubs; and what the sum total was of those fines in each year for which figures are available.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Gambling Commission has issued licences to 2,690 gambling operators. Government does not hold figures on how many of these operators have entered into commercial sponsorship agreements with Premier League football clubs but of the 20 football clubs who currently compete in that league, 10 have front of shirt sponsors who are gambling operators. None of the operators who are currently involved in shirt sponsorship arrangements with Premier League football clubs – either under their own brands or through ‘white label’ partnerships – have been fined by the Gambling Commission for breach of their Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.
The Gambling Commission publishes details of regulatory action it has taken on its website, including a list of sanctions imposed upon operators which can be seen here https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Regulatory-sanctions-register-operators.pdf
Asked by: Stephen Flynn (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of banning betting groups from sponsoring football clubs.
Answered by Nigel Adams
It is right that sporting organisations have the freedom to benefit commercially from their products and negotiate their own broadcasting and sponsorship deals.
But such organisations also have an important role to ensure the agreements they enter into are socially responsible and not detrimental to their fans. Gambling operators too are obliged to ensure that all their sponsorship and marketing activity is done responsibly and never targeted at children or vulnerable people.
The Government has committed to a further review of the Gambling Act to ensure it remains fit for the digital age. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to limit children’s exposure to gambling adverts during sporting events.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are strict controls on the content of all gambling advertisements, including broadcast adverts and online. Gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising codes, which aim to ensure gambling advertising does not target or appeal particularly to children or young people. TV adverts must be pre-cleared by Clearcast and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acts on complaints and proactively checks the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising requires all TV and print adverts to carry an 18+ or ‘no under 18s’ message.
As with advertising, sponsorship arrangements must be socially responsible and must never be targeted at children. Operators’ logos must not appear on any commercial merchandising which is designed for children, including replica football shirts in children’s sizes.
Our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures set out a package of measures to strengthen protections further. These include tougher guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting vulnerable people, with further guidance on children and young people due soon, tougher sanctions for operators who breach advertising codes and a multi-million pound safer gambling advertising campaign, which will include responsible gambling messages around sports.
The gambling industry and broadcasters have announced additional initiatives to limit the advertising seen around sport. The Industry Group for Responsible Gambling will amend its advertising code to include a ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban on all TV betting adverts during pre-watershed live sport, including for 5 minutes before and after play. It has announced that the changes are expected to come into effect in summer. Sky will also offer customers the option to opt out of TV gambling adverts from 2020. These are welcome steps by industry to respond to public concerns, and it is important that all those who benefit from gambling advertising think about how they can be socially responsible. We will continue to monitor issues around advertising and consider any new evidence carefully.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with representatives from (a) the Football Association and (b) other football governance bodies on the number of gambling companies sponsoring football clubs.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Ministers have regular meetings with stakeholders in football to discuss a number of topics, and as with all sports, we encourage organisations who benefit from gambling advertising or sponsorship, including football clubs, to look at how they can contribute to raising awareness of the potential risks associated. Gambling logos are already banned on under-18 team shirts and last year the Football Association voluntarily decided to end its sponsorship partnerships with betting companies to avoid conflict with its role in enforcing rules on betting rules.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to limit children’s exposure to gambling adverts during live sporting events.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
There are strict controls on the content of all gambling advertisements, including broadcast adverts. Gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising codes, which aim to ensure gambling advertising does not appeal particularly to children or young people or exploit vulnerable people. TV adverts must be pre-cleared by Clearcast and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acts on complaints and proactively checks the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising requires all TV and print adverts to carry an 18+ or ‘no under 18s’ message.
As with advertising, sponsorship arrangements must be socially responsible and must never be targeted at children. Operators’ logos must not appear on any commercial merchandising which is designed for children, including replica football shirts in children’s sizes.
We considered advertising as part of our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility and published our response in May. The Review looked at the existing protections around gambling advertising and set out a package of initiatives to strengthen them further. These include tougher guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting vulnerable people, with further guidance on children and young people due later this year, and tougher sanctions for operators who breach advertising codes.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with the Football Association to discourage football clubs from accepting betting companies as their shirt sponsor.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
As with gambling advertising, gambling sponsorship arrangements must be socially responsible and must never be targeted at children. The gambling industry code for socially responsible advertising requires that gambling logos must not appear on any merchandising designed for children, including replica shirts in children’s sizes. Sports themselves also have a responsibility to ensure their audiences are protected and we encourage all organisations who benefit from gambling advertising or sponsorship, including football clubs, to look at how they can contribute to raising awareness of the potential risks associated with gambling.
Gambling adverts are already banned on under-18 team shirts and last year the Football Association voluntarily decided to end its sponsorship partnerships with betting companies to avoid conflict with its role in enforcing rules on betting.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the implications for UK aid to Rwanda of that country's £30 million sponsorship of Arsenal football club.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
No UK aid money was used for Visit Rwanda’s deal with Arsenal football club, which the Government of Rwanda has made clear is funded from tourism revenue. All UK aid to Rwanda is earmarked for specific programmes, such as education and agriculture, and is subject to robust monitoring to ensure it is achieving results and value for money for the UK taxpayer.