Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce restrictions on gambling advertising following the completion of their review of gambling regulation.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government is reviewing the Gambling Act to make sure it is fit for the digital age. We have been clear, however, that work to raise standards and tackle gambling-related harm should continue alongside the review, and does not need to wait for it to be concluded. We are determined to protect those at risk of gambling related-harm and welcome the new measures announced by the Advertising Standards Authority further to reduce the appeal of gambling adverts to children and to ensure that the content of gambling adverts is appropriate for the age-restricted nature of the products.
As part of the broad scope of the review, we called for evidence on the potential benefits or harms of allowing licensed gambling operators to advertise, engage in sponsorship arrangements, and make promotional offers. We are currently considering the evidence carefully and will publish a White Paper outlining our conclusions and any proposals for reform in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the decision by the Advertising Standards Authority to ban gambling adverts featuring footballers and other sports personalities.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government is reviewing the Gambling Act to make sure it is fit for the digital age. We have been clear, however, that work to raise standards and tackle gambling-related harm should continue alongside the review, and does not need to wait for it to be concluded. We are determined to protect those at risk of gambling related-harm and welcome the new measures announced by the Advertising Standards Authority further to reduce the appeal of gambling adverts to children and to ensure that the content of gambling adverts is appropriate for the age-restricted nature of the products.
As part of the broad scope of the review, we called for evidence on the potential benefits or harms of allowing licensed gambling operators to advertise, engage in sponsorship arrangements, and make promotional offers. We are currently considering the evidence carefully and will publish a White Paper outlining our conclusions and any proposals for reform in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to reduce the number of gambling advertisements on television.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Broadcasters have discretion over how advertising breaks are set and what adverts are broadcast, as long as they comply with the advertising codes. These codes set rules such as preventing gambling adverts from airing around any programmes that particularly appeal to children. All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority and Ofcom.
The gambling industry’s own Code for Socially Responsible Advertising also includes restrictions on televised advertising, such as a ban on showing most forms of gambling advertising before 9 pm, and the ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban preventing betting ads from airing during and immediately before and after live sporting events.
The Government is currently reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the Gambling Act Review will look at the impacts of advertising and marketing by gambling operators, wherever it appears. We will publish a White Paper outlining our conclusions in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to monitor the ways that gambling companies advertise to (a) potentially vulnerable people and (b) all other people.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators and their affiliates must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). Compliance with the codes is a licence condition for gambling operators. If an operator’s advertising breaches the code, the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) can refer an operator to the Commission to take enforcement action.
To ensure compliance with the codes, the ASA proactively monitors the impacts of advertising content on different groups. Through various annual monitoring reports, the ASA monitors under 18s exposure to gambling adverts on TV and seeks to address inappropriate placement of gambling ads online as part of its quarterly online monitoring sweeps and enforcement activity. The ASA also updates the codes in response to evidence regarding the way companies advertise and its effects. Following research from Ipsos Mori for GambleAware which identified features of gambling advertising that appeal to children and vulnerable adults, the CAP has consulted on reforms to the advertising codes. New rules to protect vulnerable adults are already in force with the announcement of the full consultation outcome expected very soon.
DCMS is reviewing the Gambling Act 2005, including the evidence on advertising. We are also consulting on the Online Advertising Programme, which will examine the regulatory model for online advertising to ensure we have an effective and coherent regulatory model to help create and support a sustainable, transparent and accountable online advertising market. It will also consider the potential for harm from placement and targeting of adverts across all sectors, including gambling advertising.
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, what steps he is taking to raise public awareness of the danger of gambling addiction.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
A variety of initiatives are in place across the gambling regulatory framework, health services, and the educational curriculum to protect individuals and the wider public from harmful gambling and raise awareness of its risks.
As part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum in England, young people are taught about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt. To support teachers to deliver these topics safely and with confidence, the Department for Education has also developed a series of training modules, one of which has a specific section on gambling.
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, as well as advice and links to treatment services. Work is also being done to raise awareness through frontline practitioners, with GambleAware publishing a competency framework for primary care practitioners to improve the awareness and responsiveness of Primary Care to gambling harms.
Since 2019, GambleAware’s ‘Bet Regret’ campaign, a commitment from the government’s last Gambling Review, has effectively encouraged awareness of risky betting behaviours and action to help regain control, as well as signposting to further support. Members of the Betting and Gaming Council have also committed 20% of their advertising on TV and radio to safer gambling messaging and the Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising requires social responsibility messaging throughout the length of all broadcast gambling adverts.
The Government’s Review of the Gambling Act 2005 aims to ensure gambling regulation is fit for the digital age. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we called for evidence on the effectiveness of safer gambling messaging across a number of media, and we are considering the evidence carefully. We will publish a white paper in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of whether gambling advertising is a predictor of at risk and problem gambling in secondary school children.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department have made relationships education compulsory for all primary school pupils, relationships and sex education (RSE) compulsory for all secondary school pupils and health education compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools from September 2020. Health education includes teaching pupils about the risks associated with gambling and the statutory guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
Under the topic of internet safety and harms, the guidance sets out that young people should be taught about the risks related to online gambling, including the accumulation of debt, how advertising and information is targeted at them and how to be a discerning consumer of information online.
To support schools to deliver this content, the department has produced teacher training modules that are free to download and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health. The ‘internet safety and harms’ module includes a section on gambling which covers how the industry use advertising to target different demographics.
Other curriculum subjects, such as citizenship, mathematics and computing, can also address online gambling and its dangers. This includes developing young people’s financial literacy and highlighting the dangers of online gambling whilst using digital platforms.
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, whether she has made an assessment of the extent to which exposure to gambling advertising is a predictor of (a) at risk and (b) problem gambling among secondary school children.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Public Health England’s evidence review of gambling-related harms did not find any review-level evidence that exposure to advertising is a risk factor for harmful gambling. However, we are aware that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on some groups, such as those who are already experiencing problems with gambling, and there are aspects of advertising which can appeal to children.
While rules are already in place to prevent advertising from causing harm to children and vulnerable people, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has recently implemented strengthened protections for adults who are vulnerable to gambling harm. A further announcement on new rules aimed at reducing the appeal of gambling adverts to children is also expected shortly.
The Government is reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it remains fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the review called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a White Paper outlining conclusions and next steps in the coming months.
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 assessment she has made of the potential causal relationship between gambling advertising and harm caused by gambling.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Public Health England’s evidence review of gambling-related harms did not find any review-level evidence that exposure to advertising is a risk factor for harmful gambling. However, we are aware that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on some groups, such as those who are already experiencing problems with gambling, and there are aspects of advertising which can appeal to children.
While rules are already in place to prevent advertising from causing harm to children and vulnerable people, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has recently implemented strengthened protections for adults who are vulnerable to gambling harm. A further announcement on new rules aimed at reducing the appeal of gambling adverts to children is also expected shortly.
The Government is reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it remains fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the review called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a White Paper outlining conclusions and next steps in the coming months.
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, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of offering sporting bodies sports betting rights, where gambling companies can be charged a fee for the right to use sporting content and to offer bets on sporting competitions.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government currently has no plans to introduce a requirement for gambling operators to pay a fee or levy to sporting bodies. We are fully supportive of the Horserace Betting Levy, which recognises the symbiotic relationship between horseracing and gambling. This unique relationship is not replicated in other sports, which have a broader appeal beyond gambling. However, we recognise that gambling contributes to the funding of sports by way of media rights, advertising and sponsorship.
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 assessment she has made of the potential implications of footballers advertising non-fungible tokens to fans.
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.