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Board minutes for 17 November 2020

Meeting details

Venue:

Remote meeting

Time:

10.00 – 13.30

Attendees:

  • Louise Baxter (LB)
  • Shane Carmichael (SC)
  • Cath Cooney (CC)
  • David Forrest (DF)
  • Anna van der Gaag (AVDG) (Chair)
  • Ian Gilmore (IG)
  • Hermine Graham (HG)
  • Rachel Lampard (RL)
  • Jane West (JW)

In attendance:

  • Helen Rhodes (HR)

Staff names other than the Leadership Team have been redacted.

Minutes and actions

Apologies and declarations of interest

AVDG welcomed Board Members to the meeting and asked for notifications of any conflicts of interest.

Minutes and matters arising from September 2020

The minutes were reviewed and agreed.

Introductions, Chairs’ Update and Horizon Scanning

AVDG updated the group on her attendance at the September Gambling Commission Board meeting and noted the appetite of the Commission Board for increased engagement with the Advisory Boards.

Professor Agnes Nairn – University of Bristol

Professor Agnes Nairn joined the group to talk about her work and to share a presentation on gambling advertising influence and regulation. She outlined recent developments in research and regulatory work on gambling advertising and discussed emerging issues around digital marketing and advertising. The group noted the growth and development of digital and social marketing and growth of esports, particularly with reference to children and young people.

The group discussed digital advertising and marketing and the ways in which new technologies have impacted the market. The use of messaging around gambling and the exposure, influence and impact of advertising was considered.

The group welcomed opportunities to discuss the evidence based on this issue further with Agnes.

Lootboxes

The group received a paper from advising that DCMS have issued a call for evidence on lootboxes. ABSG were asked to consider recent evidence to offer advice on the type and scope of harm caused by lootboxes.

The group noted there was an emerging international consensus around lootboxes, with different jurisdictions taking action through the courts, through existing gambling legislation and through consumer protection legislation to act.

Actions

ABSG to review recent research and provide a summary of advice to the Commission.

LB to follow up on issues relating to consumer protection law.

Gambling Review

Update provided on the Commission’s current preparation and anticipated timeline for the Gambling Review and Advisory Board input, noting that the full scope of the review is yet to be published.

National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms

The group considered approaches to preparing the progress report for the second year of the Strategy and agreed a steer for work to be completed by March 2021.

Any other Business

The group noted a number of points for future meetings, including time for Board member updates, planning for the January 2021 meeting and external engagement in 2021.

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