House of Lords to debate impact of gambling marketing
Motion brought forward by Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster with discussion to take place on 25 April
The House of Lords is set to debate the impact of gambling marketing on 25 April, the latest discussion to take place following last year’s white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review.
Brought forward by Liberal Democrat MP Donald Foster (Baron Foster of Bath), the motion will ask the government: “What assessment have they made of the impact of gambling advertising, marketing and sponsorship on problem gambling, and in particular the risk of exposure to gambling advertising on children?”.
The debate will focus on problem gambling and its prevalence, exposure of gambling on children and government policy.
Prior to Thursday’s parliamentary session, GambleAware’s CEO called for children to be protected from gambling advertising following new research conducted by the charity.
In the announcement ahead of the House of Lords discussion, parliament referenced two independent consortia commissioned by the charity in March 2018 which assessed the “extent, nature and impact of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable groups in the UK” – the results of which were later published in 2020.
With regard to policy and the white paper, a report was published last week in response to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, in which the government addressed several areas of concern including gambling advertising, financial checks and the fight against the black market.
This was the second time the DCMS had faced criticism in recent months in relation to gambling advertising recommendations, with the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) claiming its report fell short of protecting the public.
Several debates have taken place in recent months to discuss gambling following the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review which was published in April last year.
February saw MPs gather in Westminster Hall to debate the implementation of affordability checks, while a month later MPs discussed gambling advertising in sport.