Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of whether there has been an increased risk of problem gambling among (a) adults and (b) children and young people through in-game purchases in video games during the covid-19 outbreak; and what steps his Department is taking to mitigate such risks.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government has no evidence of a causative link between in-games purchases and problem gambling, and we have no evidence that this has changed during the covid-19 outbreak. However, we continue to monitor the situation closely.
The government takes concerns around gambling-like behaviour in video games very seriously. We have committed to a review of the Gambling Act, with a particular focus on tackling issues around loot boxes. Further details will be set out in the government response to the DCMS Select Committee’s report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies which will be published shortly.
We also continue to work with industry and the age ratings bodies to encourage the use of parental controls that can disable or limit spending on devices, and welcomed the launch in January 2020 of the games industry’s Get Smart About P.L.A.Y. campaign encouraging parents to use parental controls and take an active role in their children’s gaming. We also welcome PEGI’s decision to introduce a new ‘paid random items’ content label.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness amongst children of the risks of (a) in-game purchases and loot boxes in video games and (b) other forms of gambling.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government has committed to review the Gambling Act 2005, and to tackle issues around loot boxes. Further details will be announced in due course.
From September 2020 it will be mandatory for state-funded secondary schools in England to teach pupils about risks related to online gambling as part of education about internet safety and harms. This is in addition to initiatives by third sector bodies, including the PSHE Association’s resources for teachers, Parentzone’s tools to help parents educate children about gambling and gambling-like mechanics in gaming, and the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust’s (YGAM) training and resources about gambling and digital resilience for teachers, youth workers, mental health specialists and others who work with children and young people.
We also welcomed the launch in January 2020 of the games industry’s Get Smart About P.L.A.Y. campaign encouraging parents to use parental controls and take an active role in their children’s gaming specifically.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will take steps to (a) close the monetisation loophole in gambling legislation in regards to loot boxes and (b) empower the Gambling Commission to regulate loot boxes in video games.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government has committed to review the Gambling Act 2005, and to tackle issues around loot boxes. Further details will be announced in due course.
From September 2020 it will be mandatory for state-funded secondary schools in England to teach pupils about risks related to online gambling as part of education about internet safety and harms. This is in addition to initiatives by third sector bodies, including the PSHE Association’s resources for teachers, Parentzone’s tools to help parents educate children about gambling and gambling-like mechanics in gaming, and the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust’s (YGAM) training and resources about gambling and digital resilience for teachers, youth workers, mental health specialists and others who work with children and young people.
We also welcomed the launch in January 2020 of the games industry’s Get Smart About P.L.A.Y. campaign encouraging parents to use parental controls and take an active role in their children’s gaming specifically.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will take steps to cap the amount of money players can spend on in-game purchases in video games.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government is aware of concerns around the potential for excessive spending in games, particularly by young people. These concerns are discussed in the recent DCMS Select Committee report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies. We are currently considering the Report and its recommendations and will respond in due course.
We continue to work with industry and the age ratings bodies to encourage the use of parental controls that can disable or limit spending on devices, and welcomed the launch in January 2020 of the games industry’s Get Smart About P.L.A.Y. campaign encouraging parents to use parental controls and take an active role in their children’s gaming.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to classify (a) video game loot boxes and (b) FIFA Ultimate Team Packs as gambling in the forthcoming Bill on online harms.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Government will respond to the Online Harms White Paper consultation shortly.
However, we are aware of concerns that some entertainment products, such as some video games, could encourage gambling-like behaviour. We have committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age, and to tackle issues surrounding loot boxes. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect of in-game betting on the development of gambling problems among children and young people.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is aware of concerns that entertainment products, such as some video games, could encourage gambling-like behaviour. We have committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age, and to consider concerns about loot boxes. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 include in the Online Harms Bill provisions to tackle the potential risk of problem gambling to children of online gaming.
Answered by Matt Warman
As problem gambling is not commonly associated with user-generated content, we do not anticipate that it will be addressed through the Online Harms regulatory framework.
However, the government is aware of concerns that entertainment products, such as some video games, could encourage gambling-like behaviour. We have committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age, and to tackle issues surrounding loot boxes. We will announce further details in due course.
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 steps she is taking to prevent young people spending excessively on loot boxes in computer games.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of concerns about the potential for excessive spending in games, particularly by young people. These concerns, and particularly those regarding the availability of loot boxes, are discussed in the recent DCMS Select Committee report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies. We are currently considering the Report and its recommendations and will respond in due course.
We do not currently have an estimate of the amount spent by people under 18 on in-app or in-game purchases over the last 5 years. However, we note that the Gambling Commission’s new research on Children and Young People found that of the 11-16 year olds taking part in their survey, 52% had heard of the availability of in-game items and of these 44% had paid money to open loot boxes.
We encourage parents concerned about in-game spending by their children to consider using the parental controls available on devices to disable this function.
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 estimate his Department has made of the amount spent by people under 18 on in-app or in-game purchases over the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of concerns about the potential for excessive spending in games, particularly by young people. These concerns, and particularly those regarding the availability of loot boxes, are discussed in the recent DCMS Select Committee report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies. We are currently considering the Report and its recommendations and will respond in due course.
We do not currently have an estimate of the amount spent by people under 18 on in-app or in-game purchases over the last 5 years. However, we note that the Gambling Commission’s new research on Children and Young People found that of the 11-16 year olds taking part in their survey, 52% had heard of the availability of in-game items and of these 44% had paid money to open loot boxes.
We encourage parents concerned about in-game spending by their children to consider using the parental controls available on devices to disable this function.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
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 support research into the effects of gambling-like mechanics in video games on (a) young and (b) vulnerable players of those games.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The DCMS Select Committee’s report on Immersive and Addictive Technology was published on 12th September. It is critical of the games sector and makes a dozen recommendations for Government action.
Most of the media coverage of the report focussed on the Select Committee’s recommendation that DCMS should change the Gambling Act to bring into scope the loot box mechanics that some games contain. The report also recommended that DCMS should work with researchers to identify key questions needed to develop research into the long term effects of (video) gaming and that DCMS should establish a scientific working group to collate the latest evidence on the effects of “gambling-like” mechanics in games.
DCMS is leading on the Government response which has been requested by 11 November and officials are currently developing advice for ministers.
The UK’s video games sector - and particularly a number of the large inward investors here - are alarmed at the tone of the Select Committee’s report and looking to Government to show it will take an evidence-based and proportionate approach in its response.
Loot boxes do not fall under gambling law where the in-game items acquired are confined for use within the game and cannot be cashed out. However, the Gambling Commission is aware of possible areas of convergence between video games and gambling, and will continue to monitor this closely.