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Dear Emma Holdsworth

You have contacted the Gambling Commission about Apple advertising games
directed at children. 

Thank you for contacting us and I do understand your concerns and a record
of your concerns has been recorded, this can then be reviewed by our
policy teams as part of their ongoing work into young people and
gambling. 

However, I must advise that gambling law in Great Britain does not cover
the regulation of social/video games which feature simulated gambling
activities or social gambling. 

The Commission regulates gambling activities for adults (18+) we do not
regulate social gaming.

The regulation of social gaming can only be made by government.  Only
they have the power to amend the Gambling Act 2005 to cover social gaming
or introduce separate legislation to regulate social gaming.  

Currently the sector is self-regulated but if this model is to maintain
public confidence we think the social gaming industry - and the platforms
through which they are accessed – should explore steps to operate in a
responsible manner.

The government have recently released a white paper to bring the current
regulation the Gambling Act 2005 into the digital age. The protection of
children is a priority for them as part of the suite of changes they are
proposing to make.

[1]High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Part 5 covers young children and young adults.

I would like to further assure you that we do take the issue of
children/young people gambling very seriously.  It is an area of work that
we continually monitor to ensure that the young and vulnerable are
protected from gambling harm.  Please see below our most recent report.

[2]2022 Young People and Gambling Report (gamblingcommission.gov.uk)

We have also attended Select Committee hearings to talk about about
our findings. Please see links below:

[3]https://www.parliament.uk/business/commi...

[4]https://www.parliament.uk/business/commi...

I would suggest also that once the election has taken place you raise this
issue with your MP, again, this is because only the sitting government can
make the required changes to current regulations.

I do hope you find this response informative.

Your enquiry reference number is 1-409829010.

Yours sincerely

Contact Advisor

The Gambling Commission

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