Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will take steps to reduce the number of gambling advertisements on television.
Answered by Paul Scully
Broadcasters have discretion over how advertising breaks are set and what adverts are broadcast, as long as they comply with the advertising codes of practice issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), which are enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). 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 Committee of Advertising Practice has recently made changes to the advertising codes in response to research on features of advertising that appeal to children and vulnerable people. These include banning content that over-emphasises skill or downplays risk involved in betting, as well as the use of content or persons who have ‘strong appeal’ to children, such as influencers or top-flight footballers. The Code in relation to broadcast advertising can be found here: https://www.asa.org.uk/type/broadcast/code_section/17.html
The government has not engaged with the BBC on the subject of its presenters appearing in gambling advertisements. The BBC is independent from the government and any additional rules or guidelines specifically for BBC staff would be a matter for the BBC to decide.
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: 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: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Markham on 16 November (HL3261) and 17 November (HL3260), what data they can provide on patient numbers at (1) NHS gambling clinics, and (2) the NHS national children and young person’s pilot gambling clinic.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the information requested is not held by clinic, the following table shows the number of referrals to the NHS London Gambling Service via the National Problem Gambling Clinic and Children and Young Person’s Clinic and the Northern Gambling Service in Leeds, Manchester and Sunderland in each year since 2020/21.
2020/21 | 775 |
2021/22 | 1,013 |
April to September 2022 | 599 |
Data from the Children and Young Person’s Clinic includes referrals for gaming.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of support provided by his Department to families affected by addiction.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are a number of programmes in place to support families impacted by addiction, including family support within specialist gambling clinics and the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents Programme, which was supported by £7.2 million over four years. This investment in drug and alcohol treatment services through the drug strategy enables local authorities to embed learning from this programme into family-based interventions.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many young people have been treated in the NHS national children and young person’s pilot gambling clinic in the past year, broken down by (1) age, and (2) the region of the country they live in.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not collected centrally in the format requested.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what legal basis the personal information and exam results of up to 28 million children were made available to gambling firms; who made the decision to make this information available; and what the legal limitations are on the provision of such information.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Examination result information was not made available to gambling firms. A third party made the decision to use their lawful access to the Learning Records Service without discussion with, or the agreement of, the Department. This was outside their conditions of use. The third party used the system to verify the age that individuals had given to gambling firms. When their actions became known, the Department immediately removed their access to the system. The Department reported itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office and has continued to work with them since to improve Departmental processes.
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: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support students who have online problem gambling issues.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
A variety of initiatives are in place across the gambling regulatory framework, health services, and the educational curriculum to protect young people, and the wider public, from harmful gambling and to 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 direct people to the charity GambleAware’s begambleaware.org site, which contains a wide range of information for everyone on risks, as well as links to advice and support, including the 24-hour National Gambling Helpline. The NHS webpage 'Help for problem gambling' also covers common indicators which suggest that people may be experiencing harmful gambling, as well as advice and links to treatment services.
In addition, support is provided specifically for children and young people. To prevent children and young people from suffering gambling-related harm later in life, since 2020 children have been taught about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt, as part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum in England. The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust charity provides free training for university staff and students’ unions and maintains a bespoke student website dedicated to help protect university students and young people from gambling harm.
In 2019, DCMS secured a commitment from industry to contribute £100 million over four years to problem gambling treatment. NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are also continuing work to improve and expand specialist treatment services, with up to 15 new NHS clinics set to open by 2023/24.
His Majesty’s Government is closely considering the protections in place for children and young adults as part of the scope of its wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act to ensure they are fit for the digital age. A White Paper setting out our next steps and proposals for reform 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.