September 24, 2024 Senator Leo Housakos Chair Standing Senate Committee on Transport & Communications Dear Senator Housakos I should like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to address and take questions from your Committee. I hope you found it a useful insight into our experience here in the UK. In my evidence I said that the majority of the recommendations of my Committee could be implemented without primary legislation. The UK Gambling Act gives Ministers wide powers to make Regulations about the form and content of advertisements, their timing and their location.

So gambling advertising could be banned altogether; or it could be banned for some sports but not others, it could be banned in and around football grounds and other sporting venues, it could be banned on television, or at the times when children are likely to be watching – the possibilities are numerous. All this can now be done by secondary legislation. Herewith the statistical information I undertook to provide you with. I understand that your members now all have a copy of my Committee’s Report.

The last Gambling Commission statistics published on September show that between January and April 2024 48% of adults (18+) participated in some form of gambling in the previous 4 weeks. For details see https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and- research/publication/statistics-on- gambling-participation-year-2-2024-wave-1-official-statistics In the year to March 2023, the last year for which there are full Gambling Commission statistics, the overall headline problem gambling rate as measured by the short form Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) was statistically stable at 0.3 percent.

The moderate risk rate and low risk rate also remained statistically stable at 1.2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively (compared to year to March 2022), see https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and- research/publication/statistics- on-participation-and-problem-gambling-for-the-year-to- march-2023#key-facts The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) is explained here: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/report/gambling-survey-for-great-britain- annual-report-2023-official-statistics/gsgb-annual-report-problem-gambling-severity-index It has to be said that different methods of measuring problem gambling lead to very different figures.

The Gambling Commission figures, supported by the industry, are certainly on the low side. A survey by YouGov in found figures that were times higher, showing 1.4 million adults as problem gamblers, and a further 1.5 million at risk: see https://www.gambleaware.org/sites/default/files/2022- 03/Annual%20GB%20Treatment%20and%20Support%20Survey%20Report%202021%2 0%28FINAL%29.pdf page 24. The industry of course strongly disputes these figures. They are certainly on the high side, but cannot be discounted.

In its evidence to the Select Committee https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/104951/pdf/ HM Treasury said: "The total revenue raised from gambling duties in 2018/19 was around £3.0bn. This represented c.0.4% of the total annual tax take. This is forecast to rise to £3.2bn by 2019/20.” By 2023/24 this had risen to £3.4bn. Do come back if you need further clarification on anything. Kind regards. Yours sincerely MICHAEL GRADE (Lord Grade of Yarmouth)