Problem gambling, advertising, and the impact on children: Lords to hold double evidence session
On Tuesday 23 July the House of Lords Select Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry will hold two evidence sessions. Speaking to the Committee will be academics specialising in the psychology of gambling behaviour, and representatives from the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling and the Gambling Commission.
The Committee has been established to consider a number of issues relating to gambling and the gambling industry. These include: the current state of the industry; the lack of accurate estimates of the extent of the problem; developments in gambling habits, in particular online gambling; the ‘gamblification' of sport; the industry's contribution towards research, and the education and treatment of problem gamblers; whether those who need help have access to it; advertising; and lotteries.
Giving evidence to the Committee at 3.20pm in Committee Room 4 will be:
- Professor Jim Orford, Emeritus Professor of Clinical and Community Psychology, University of Birmingham
- Dr Heather Wardle, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Questions will focus on:
- The current levels of problem gambling in the UK
- The nature of ‘gambling harm', how it is distributed and what causes it
- The impact of gambling advertising, especially on children
- Whether children should be allowed to gamble, including playing the lottery and category D machines
Giving evidence to the Committee at 4.15pm in Committee Room 4 will be:
- Dr Anna van der Gaag, Chair of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling
- Tim Miller, Executive Director, Gambling Commission
Questions will focus on:
- Whether there is adequate research for policy makers to make evidence-based decisions
- The data available for researchers
- The cost of gambling in the UK, and how that cost is calculated
- Advertising and the impact on children
