Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

National Lottery Licence: Procurement

Thursday 1 July 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Gambling Commission is running the competition for the next national lottery licence, which will start in August 2023.
  • The Gambling Commission has completed several rounds of market engagement with potential applicants.
  • The Government recently raised the minimum age for buying national lottery tickets from 16 to 18.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Carolyn Harris Lab Neath and Swansea East
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The procurement process for the next national lottery licence is under way, run by the Gambling Commission. There has been concern about scrutiny and harm prevention measures.

Question

What progress he has made on the procurement process for the fourth national lottery licence?

Answer from John Whittingdale

The Gambling Commission is running the competition for the next national lottery licence, which will come into force in August 2023. The Gambling Commission has undertaken several rounds of market engagement with prospective applicants, and I was pleased to note that the commission received the expected number of applications. We expect to announce the preferred applicant at the end of the year.

Answered
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Q2 Carolyn Harris Lab Neath and Swansea East
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The Gambling Commission has declined an invitation to discuss the procurement process for the fourth national lottery licence with a parliamentary group. There is concern about potential harms from products like online instant win games.

Question

Will the Minister reassure the House that there will be proper scrutiny of the next provider and that appropriate harm prevention measures will be introduced?

Answer from John Whittingdale

The incidence of problem gambling is lowest among players of the National Lottery, but nevertheless the need for protection of players remains of paramount importance. It was for that reason that the Government recently increased the minimum age for purchase of national lottery tickets from 16 to 18, and I can assure the hon. Lady that we will continue to monitor, as will the Gambling Commission, whether any further measures are necessary.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Reassurance about proper scrutiny and introduction of harm prevention measures specifically asked for was not directly addressed.

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