In April 2017, we made significant reforms to the Horserace Betting Levy by fixing the Levy rate at 10% and extending the scope of the Levy to include offshore online bookmakers for the first time. These reforms resulted in an extra £45m in statutory Levy income for 2017/18 to support the racing industry and we expect a similar uplift for 2018/19.

The uplift in income from the reformed Levy has contributed to record prize money of £142.5m in 2017/18 and has also provided increased funding for equine welfare, industry recruitment and training, and measures related to veterinary science and education.

We note the Parliamentary Scrutiny committees’ reports regarding proposed changes to the administration of the reformed Levy and will consider them carefully.

As with gambling advertising, gambling sponsorship arrangements must be socially responsible and must never be targeted at children. The gambling industry code for socially responsible advertising requires that gambling logos must not appear on any merchandising designed for children, including replica shirts in children’s sizes. Sports themselves also have a responsibility to ensure their audiences are protected and we encourage all organisations who benefit from gambling advertising or sponsorship, including football clubs, to look at how they can contribute to raising awareness of the potential risks associated with gambling.

Gambling adverts are already banned on under-18 team shirts and last year the Football Association voluntarily decided to end its sponsorship partnerships with betting companies to avoid conflict with its role in enforcing rules on betting.

We considered advertising as part of our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility. The response was published on 17 May. The Review looked at protections around gambling advertising across all media and set out a package of initiatives to strengthen protections further, including forthcoming guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting children and young people. We do not propose to bring forward legislation at this stage, however we will keep these issues under review.

All gambling operators have duties to prevent money laundering under the Gambling Act 2005, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. Any operators selling services into the British market must be licensed by the Commission, and the licence conditions require operators to assess the money laundering risks to their business and to have controls in place to mitigate them. Operators must also comply with social responsibility and customer interaction requirements to protect vulnerable people.

The Commission conducts suitability checks on the business, all persons relevant to the business and on key management personnel, and has powers to revoke or suspend licences, attach individual conditions to licences and/or impose a financial penalty in the case of failings. The Commission also has powers to launch criminal investigations and bring criminal proceedings against companies and individuals. The Government considers that these powers are sufficient to enforce bookmakers’ compliance with anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations.

In February 2018 a Gambling Commission investigation into William Hill resulted in a £6.2m penalty package for breaches of anti-money laundering and social responsibility regulations. As part of the regulatory settlement, the Gambling Commission has instructed William Hill to appoint external auditors to review its anti-money laundering and social responsibility measures, and to share learning with the wider industry.

In 2016 the Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation, which is still ongoing, into online gambling companies’ compliance with consumer protection law. Information on this work can be found on the CMA website: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/online-gambling#case-launch. In February 2018 the CMA launched a merger investigation into the proposed acquisition by GVC Holdings plc of Ladbrokes Coral Group plc. Information on this investigation can be found at

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/gvc-holdings-ladbrokes-coral-group-merger-inquiry

As a matter of policy, the Gambling Commission does not provide information on ongoing investigations. The outcomes of the Gambling Commission’s enforcement work are published on its website.

The Gambling Commission will continue to take robust and effective action where gambling companies fail to meet their obligations. Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues.

In April 2017, the Government implemented reforms to the Horserace Betting Levy which made it a requirement for offshore operators to pay the Levy for the first time.

The Horserace Betting Levy Board, which collects the Levy, estimates that the reformed Levy will generate c.£85m in 2017/18. This would represent an increase of c.£20m compared to receipts from bookmakers in 2016/17 under the old system. The actual Levy yield for 2017/18 will only be known after the end of the financial year. Increased receipts from the Levy have already allowed an additional £9.7m of investment in grassroots prize money, contributing to record prize money of £160m in 2018.

The Levy is collected from bookmakers and distributed in line with the statutory purposes in support of horseracing, and so has no direct effect on the public purse.

Gambling policy and regulation is devolved to Northern Ireland, and we do not hold figures covering spending on gambling in Northern Ireland. The Gambling Commission is the regulator for Great Britain and collects industry statistics from operators’ regulatory returns which include data on Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) and turnover. These are published on the Commission’s website: http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics/Industry-statistics.aspx.

Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) is the amount retained by operators after the payment of winnings but before the deduction of operating costs. The GGY figure provides a more accurate reflection of consumer behaviour than turnover, as turnover alone includes recycled funds.

Gambling Commission statistics do not provide specific data on the amount taken in betting shops. The nearest equivalent is data provided for off-course betting, which includes over-the-counter and machine GGY in betting shops. This does not include GGY from pool betting (some of which is attributable to betting shops).

GB off-course betting data (April 2012 - Mar 2017):

From November 2014 (remote data)

Since November 2014 the Gambling Commission has collected data from all gambling operators licensed to provide remote gambling services (online and via telephone) to consumers in Great Britain. This followed implementation of the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014.

Before November 2014 (remote data)

Before November 2014, only operators with remote equipment located in Great Britain required a licence from the Gambling Commission. Therefore the Gambling Commission only has data for a small portion of the British-facing remote market before November 2014. Data provided for the period before November 2014 is not directly comparable to data covering the period after this date and does not reflect the total amount spent during this time.