Health and Social Care Committee to Hear Evidence on Gambling-related Harms

The Health and Social Care Select Committee will examine the current gambling landscape and the potential for harms caused by developments in gambling products in a one-off oral evidence session on Wednesday 2 April.

In 2023, approximately 25 million people in England gambled, and in the financial year to March 2024 the British gambling industry had a gross gambling yield (GGY) of £15.6 billion.

The Government has said it wants to facilitate a “cultural shift” in the understanding of gambling-related harms to reduce stigma associated with getting help. The session will see MPs probe what is needed to develop an effective public health response to gambling-related harms, and the Government’s role in leading and delivering this work.

As part of their questioning on the public health response to gambling-related harms, MPs will ask witnesses’ views on what role public health teams need to have within wider local authority services to reduce potential for gambling-related harms, and whether they think the current rules sufficiently safeguard children and vulnerable people from gambling-related harms.

In November 2024, the Government announced the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators, which will provide, for the first time, a dedicated statutory investment for prevention work. From April 2025, the Gambling Commission will be responsible for collecting and administering the new levy, under the strategic direction of the UK government.

In light of this, the session will see MPs pose questions to witnesses on the commissioning of effective treatment and prevention services in the context of the statutory levy on gambling operators and the role of the Gambling Commission in regulating the industry.