Gambling Commission Executive Director Tim Miller has criticised several claims made during a recent parliamentary health committee session on gambling harm levels in Great Britain, flagging concerns over some of the evidence presented.
Certain claims were made in the parliamentary Health and Social Care Committee meeting in April. The session’s first panel, made up of gambling harm researchers, called for more restrictions on casino games and gambling ads.
Miller responded to the research via a letter addressed to Layla Moran, chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, shortly after the spring meeting. The letter was made public on 8 July.
Shortly after the April session, the Health and Social Care Committee wrote to the Department of Health and Social Care requesting that the government take further action to curb gambling harms. It also called for a second Gambling Act review.
However, certain industry stakeholders raised concerns over the session and how evidence was presented. Some sector analysts also said the reported numbers were misleading and required further consideration.
Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners said the committee’s letter was “remarkably ill-informed”. He said the committee had spoken with a number of anti-gambling activists and appeared to have accepted everything they said at face value.
No source provided for gambling harm claims
In his letter, Miller referenced three statements made during the meeting by researchers, noting no source was provided for each claim.
During the session, Lucy Hubber, director of Public Health Nottingham, said one third of 11-16-year-olds were taking part in land-based gambling.
Sam Chamberlain, professor of psychiatry, University of Southampton, said up to 20% of young people had a gambling problem in 2020. Finally, he referenced a statement by Heather Wardle, professor of gambling research and policy, University of Glasgow, that skin betting among young adults is as risky as online slots.
In relation to Hubber’s comment, Miller said no source was provided for this information, other than “from local estimates”. For the points raised by Chamberlain and Wardle, he said no source was provided for these statements.
Commission data contradicts session claims
To support his points, Miller referenced the commission’s 2024 Young People and Gambling report.
Published last November, the report suggested 27% of 11-17-year-olds had gambled in the previous 12 months. The most common forms of gambling were arcade games such as penny pushers and claw grab machines. Casual betting with family and friends was also mentioned.
“These statistics would not support an assertion, at a national level at least, that a third of 11-16 years old are using land based gambling,” Miller said.
Miller also flagged how gambling participation among young people was largely under the supervision of parents. Some 8% of those surveyed played National Lottery games online, with 7% doing so through their parents’ accounts with permission.
“The same patterns are apparent when looking at specific types of online gambling,” he said.
“Some 6% of young people had played National Lottery games online using their parents’ or guardians’ account with their permission, compared to 1% without permission.
“Similarly, 6% had played on gambling websites or placed bets online via their parents’ or guardians’ account with permission, compared to 2% without permission.”
Commission already addressing young people and gambling
Miller also highlighted steps already taken to address gambling among young people in line with the recent Gambling Act review.
The commission has introduced new rules for all land-based gambling licensees to carry out age verification test purchasing. The regulator also changed its good practice code to require licensees to have procedures for staff to check the age of any customer who appears to be under 25 years of age, rather than under 21 years of age.
Miller said there is evidence to suggest this approach is working. From April 2023 to March 2024, the headline test purchasing rate for individuals being challenged was 94%.
This is an increase from 93% from April 2022 to March 2023 and from 92% from April 2021 to March 2022.
“The Commission is not complacent and while these figures do show an improvement year on year, it shows there is still work to be done by the Commission, local authorities and individual operators to ensure that young people are protected from gambling,” the commission’s letter said.
Protection remains key
Miller went on to highlight other actions by the Gambling Commission to protect young people and prevent gambling harm. These include shutting down illegal websites operating alongside Roblox, an open source gaming site popular with children.
In this instance, third-party websites had been set up to allow people to bet using the Robux in-game currency.
In addition, he said since April 2024 the commission has issued 1,150 cease-and-desist and disruption notices. On top of this, the regulator continues to work with key search engines such as Google to tackle illegal activity.
Miller ended the letter by setting out the commission’s long-term desire to protect not only young people from gambling harm, but all individuals.
“The Commission takes the issue of illegal gambling incredibly seriously and as part of our wider work on tackling illegal operators, the Commission has been taking increased action,” he said.
“Illegal operators do not provide the level of protection for consumers required in the legal market. They undercut licensed operators and do not contribute to the exchequer or funding for research, education and treatment of gambling harm.”
The Commission’s Tim Miller questioned some of the gambling harm data presented in the session earlier this year.