Welcome to the website for the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group
Losses on FOBTs since 24 October 2016
Stop the losses. Reduce the stake on FOBTs to £2 now.
*Calculated using Gambling Commission figures April 2014 to March 2017
** This estimate is based on losses over a 24 hour period. On average bookmakers are open for 12 hours a day (except for Sundays when they are open for on average 7 hours), on this basis, during shop opening hours, losses would be higher at around £115.14 every second, £6,908.4 every minute and £414,504 an hour.
Letter to the PM calling for an Independent Public Inquiry into the collapse of Football Index
On 13th April, Members of the APPG – joined by the Peers for Gambling Reform and other supportive Parliamentarians – wrote to the Prime Minister to call for an independent public inquiry into the collapse of Football Index.
Please find a copy of the letter here.
If you are a supportive Parliamentarian and would like to add your name in support of the call, please contact the APPG Secretariat on grh-appguk@interelgroup.com.
Final Report of the Inquiry into Online Gambling Harm
Today, the Gambling Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group are publishing their final report following their inquiry into online gambling harm.
The final report can be downloaded here.
The press release can be downloaded here.
Following a year-long inquiry the 50-strong group of prominent parliamentarians calls for protections for online gamblers and a complete overhaul of gambling regulation in the UK. The group sets out over 30 recommendations including:
- Stake limits for online slot content of no higher than £2 given the potential to cause harm.
- A ban on all VIP schemes and inducements. These schemes are highly profitable for gambling companies offering very high stakes gambling and they continue to lead to significant harm.
- A ban on all gambling advertising.
- A complete overhaul of gambling regulation in the UK. The Gambling Commission is not fit for purpose.
- An urgent review of stakes, deposit and prize limits online as well as a complete review and classification of online products.
- Affordability limits set and imposed by the Gambling Commission.
- A Gambling Ombudsman for consumer redress.
- A mandatory ‘smart’ levy paid by gambling operators to fund independent research, education, prevention and treatment.
- A new Gambling Act. While some immediate changes can be made through secondary legislation and the Government should consider what changes can be made in the short-term, an overhaul of the 2005 Gambling Act is required – fit for our digital age.
Our asks of the gambling industry in light of the Covid-19 crisis:
- Commit to implement deposit limits for the duration of the crisis.
- Implement a £2 stake per spin limit on slot content online to reduce the harm that this highly dangerous content can have.
- End VIP accounts, which encourage high levels of expenditure.
- End all gambling advertising and sign up offers for bonuses.
- Make data available to ensure independent research can be undertaken to assess the scale of harm being caused by the industry and the need for further harm prevention measures
Committee 2021 –
Chair – Carolyn Harris MP
Vice Chair – Ronnie Cowan MP
Vice Chair – The Rt Hon. The Lord Foster of Bath
Vice Chair – The Rt Hon. Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP
Vice Chair – Richard Holden MP
Vice Chair – Sir Mark Hendrick MP
Vice Chair – Sammy Wilson MP
Vice Chair – The Rt Hon. Stephen Timms MP
Vice Chair – Mark Menzies MP
Treasurer – Judith Cummins MP
Secretary – Gerald Jones MP
Contact
For further information, please contact the group Secretariat
APPG Secretariat
T: 0207 592 3800
E: grh-appg@interelgroup.com
Latest News
Please find here a letter from Members of the GRH APPG – joint with the Peers for Gambling Reform and joined by other supportive Parliamentarians – to the Prime Minister calling for an independent public inquiry into the collapse of…
Please click here to download the minutes from the 25th February 2021 Annual General Meeting of the APPG. Please click here to download a copy of the 2020 – 2021 Income and Expenditure Statement approved by the Group at the…
Please click here to download the minutes from the 2nd February 2021 Meeting of the APPG.
Please find here a letter from the Group to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, The Rt Hon. Oliver Dowden CBE MP, calling for a public inquiry into the circumstances of the collapse of Football Index.
Please find here a letter from Neil McArthur, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, to Carolyn Harris MP, Chair of the GRH APPG, on the nature, scale, and disruption of illegal gambling in the UK. Please see below the data…
Please click here to download the minutes from the 11th November 2020 meeting of the APPG.