Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Fourth Report - What next for the National Lottery?
Culture, Media and Sport Committee
HC 154
Published 22 November 2022
Government response
Twelfth Special Report - What next for the National Lottery?: National Lottery Distributors’ Response to the Committee’s Fourth Report · published 23 Oct 2023
Recommendations & Conclusions
1
Conclusion
Para 18
We are disappointed that Camelot chose not to make itself available for scrutiny of its...
Conclusion
We are disappointed that Camelot chose not to make itself available for scrutiny of its performance as the National Lottery operator.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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2
Conclusion
Para 33
The Gambling Commission has followed its predecessors in overseeing a poorly managed competition, and we...
Conclusion
The Gambling Commission has followed its predecessors in overseeing a poorly managed competition, and we are concerned by reports of up to £600 million in compensation being taken from the good causes budget.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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3
Conclusion
Para 34
The Gambling Commission must vigilantly monitor Allwyn’s good cause returns to ensure that fund distributors...
Conclusion
The Gambling Commission must vigilantly monitor Allwyn’s good cause returns to ensure that fund distributors are not once again short-changed.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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4
Conclusion
The Gambling Commission should, within six months of the licence process being complete, review its...
Conclusion
The Gambling Commission should, within six months of the licence process being complete, review its licence competition design process, highlighting areas of failure, and report back to the Committee with its findings. This should include an assessment of changes necessary …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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5
Conclusion
Para 45
The fine imposed against Camelot earlier this year regarding the National Lottery’s inappropriate targeting of...
Conclusion
The fine imposed against Camelot earlier this year regarding the National Lottery’s inappropriate targeting of vulnerable consumers is concerning enough in isolation, and more so when considered alongside concerns raised by gambling harms experts that such targeting is being used …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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6
Conclusion
Para 46
The Lottery operator and Gambling Commission should collect and share player data with the public,...
Conclusion
The Lottery operator and Gambling Commission should collect and share player data with the public, in order to enable independent research into the users of the National Lottery and the potential harms faced by different demographics. This should include frequency …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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7
Recommendation
Para 47
We recommend that the Gambling Commission commissions research into the gambling harms of National Lottery...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Gambling Commission commissions research into the gambling harms of National Lottery advertising and marketing, including any personalisation that may lead to the promotion of higher-risk products to vulnerable players. We would expect that to occur within …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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8
Conclusion
Para 53
We think that any operator should, by default, meet the Gambling Commission’s suggested donation to...
Conclusion
We think that any operator should, by default, meet the Gambling Commission’s suggested donation to GambleAware, and have an ambition to go beyond that. We will reassess this issue following the publication of the gambling White Paper.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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9
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Para 58
While it is clearly the case that the National Lottery poses significantly fewer gambling harms...
Conclusion
While it is clearly the case that the National Lottery poses significantly fewer gambling harms than many other forms of gambling, to play a National Lottery game is undeniably gambling, which the National Lottery operator should bear in mind. Including …
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Government Response Summary
The response discusses grant acknowledgement, which is not the subject of the recommendation. The recommendation is about including GambleAware branding on National Lottery products.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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10
Recommendation
Para 59
We recommend that, with immediate effect, all National Lottery products should carry GambleAware branding.
Recommendation
We recommend that, with immediate effect, all National Lottery products should carry GambleAware branding.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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11
Recommendation
Para 66
We recommend that the Gambling Commission carries out an evaluation of the effectiveness of delivering...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Gambling Commission carries out an evaluation of the effectiveness of delivering the stated objectives of money raised through fines and given to third parties. This evaluation should then be published along with all relevant metrics and …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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12
Conclusion
Para 71
Exemptions within the ban on gambling on credit are ill thought through and subject to...
Conclusion
Exemptions within the ban on gambling on credit are ill thought through and subject to discretion. While the original ban goes most of the way to preventing this form of gambling harm, opt-outs for retailers maintain the possibility for those …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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13
Recommendation
We recommend that this loophole, which allows consumers to continue to gamble using credit cards,...
Recommendation
We recommend that this loophole, which allows consumers to continue to gamble using credit cards, should be closed as soon as practicable, following discussions with retailers. (Paragraph 72) Distributing Bodies
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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14
Conclusion
Para 85
We congratulate moves by Arts Council England to rebalance funding across the UK and remain...
Conclusion
We congratulate moves by Arts Council England to rebalance funding across the UK and remain interested in how wider aims to facilitate access to arts and culture might be aligned with the Government’s levelling up agenda. National Lottery- funded organisations …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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15
Recommendation
Para 86
We recommend that the Government continues to ensure greater alignment between its investment priorities into...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government continues to ensure greater alignment between its investment priorities into areas of high economic or social deprivation and the distribution priorities of National Lottery fund distributors.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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16
Conclusion
Para 92
We await the publication of the evaluation of the Culture Recovery Fund and hope that...
Conclusion
We await the publication of the evaluation of the Culture Recovery Fund and hope that the Department is able to use it as the foundation for future crisis planning. There is otherwise no guarantee that the admirable response of National …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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17
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 102
Public awareness of the link between the National Lottery and funding for good causes remains...
Conclusion
Public awareness of the link between the National Lottery and funding for good causes remains lower than it should be. This risks the public losing sight of the National Lottery’s original purpose, to raise money for good causes, and instead …
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Government Response Summary
The government and National Lottery Distributors acknowledge the importance of public awareness regarding good causes funding and have committed to changes to ensure recipients more effectively make beneficiaries aware of the funding source, building on existing mechanisms like contractual obligations.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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18
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
We recommend that a clear majority of National Lottery product advertising should prominently feature the...
Recommendation
We recommend that a clear majority of National Lottery product advertising should prominently feature the link between playing the National Lottery and supporting good causes. (Paragraph 103) What next for the National Lottery? 37
Government Response Summary
The government and National Lottery Distributors welcome the focus on grant acknowledgement and commit to considering how to more effectively ensure funding recipients make beneficiaries aware of the source of funding, and have committed to specific changes in this area, but do not directly address prominently featuring this link in product advertising.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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19
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
We recommend that, over the next six months, the distributing bodies consider how they might...
Recommendation
We recommend that, over the next six months, the distributing bodies consider how they might more effectively ensure that recipients of funding ensure that those benefitting from that funding are aware of the source of their funding. We would like …
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Government Response Summary
The National Lottery Distributors agree that grant acknowledgement is vitally important and will ensure that recipients of funding acknowledge their National Lottery Funding, however, they do not mention the requested report from the National Lottery Distribution Fund.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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20
Conclusion
Para 121
We do not consider that society lotteries pose a threat to the charitable giving of...
Conclusion
We do not consider that society lotteries pose a threat to the charitable giving of the National Lottery, in line with the views of the Gambling Commission and the Department. Recent years have seen significant reforms to society lottery regulation …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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21
Recommendation
Para 122
We recommend that the 10% rule for society lotteries should be removed, instead allowing individual...
Recommendation
We recommend that the 10% rule for society lotteries should be removed, instead allowing individual society lotteries to set their own prizes, up to a limit of £500,000.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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22
Conclusion
Para 123
It is difficult to understand why the National Lottery has been so hostile towards society...
Conclusion
It is difficult to understand why the National Lottery has been so hostile towards society lotteries while largely ignoring prize draws. It merits further investigation as to whether prize draws, with such large revenues and little regulation, are competing for …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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23
Recommendation
We recommend that prize draws be subject to regulation such as that which applies to...
Recommendation
We recommend that prize draws be subject to regulation such as that which applies to society lotteries, including on the percentage of sales that must be donated to good causes. We hope that the upcoming gambling White Paper will provide …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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