Focus on Online Gambling in the Commons

Conservatives claim online gambling regulations are too lax while at the same time seeking to promote the UK gambling industry in Europe

The Conservatives have highlighted the possible growth in problem gambling related to online gambling. The Conservative Shadow Minister for Sport, Tobias Ellwood MP said: “The Government has been happy to sit idly by and do nothing to stop the surge in unregulated online gambling. With each year that passes more people are getting addicted to these sites which offer little consumer protection. Companies that advertise here must meet the UK’s regulatory standards. We must ensure that online gambling is done in a responsible and safe environment.” In answer a spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport rejected the Tory estimates. She noted that official Government research showed gambling addiction remained stable at 0.6 per cent of the population adding: “There is no basis in fact for this claim and the reality is that levels of problem gambling have not risen since 1997. Whilst it is true that more people are gambling online, it does not necessarily follow that more are becoming problem gamblers.” The problem with this response is that there has only ever been one official Gambling Survey (2007) that measures remote gambling, so it is not possible to say from this whether problem gambling is stable or not. Indeed the Gambling Survey shows that the highest levels of problem gambling are related to the newer forms of gambling so much so that out of the top five forms of gambling related to problem gambling three are conducted almost exclusively online. To read more in the Telegraph please go HERE For the Daily Mails story please go HERE Online gambling debated in Westminster Hall On Wednesday the 18th of March, Robert Neill MP secured a Westminster Hall debate on Online Gambling and its regulation. He highlighted the possible danger of lax regulation in countries that have been allowed onto the “white-list,” which names those countries the UK deems to have sufficient regulation to warrant companies based in them to advertise in the UK. Neill called on the Government for more transparency on the criteria by which countries are allowed on the white-list. He did however express general agreement with the current regulatory regime. The debate in Westminster Hall also included mention of the recent Report past by the European Parliament earlier this month on Online Gambling which CARE supported. We did so on the grounds that the Report makes a clear link between problem gambling and remote gambling and because it calls on EU Member States, the Commission and Council to deal with the disparity of gambling regulation that exists between various countries within the EU seeking to tighten up regulatory regimes in countries where they are lacking. The Report was opposed by British Conservative MEPs on the grounds that some countries in the EU run gambling monopolies as a means to curb problem gambling. By doing so these countries are in breach of free trade agreements and so pose a barrier to UK based gambling companies. For a quick summary of the debate please go HERE or HERE To read the whole debate you can go HERE