With a third of 12 to 16 year-olds having been actively involved in gambling in the last 12 months, Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has questioned the Welsh Government over action it is taking to address the problem.

Darren raised the issue in the Senedd Chamber last week, after recently sponsoring a Senedd reception with YGAM, the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust,  at which Members of the Senedd discussed with the charity problem gambling and gaming harm.

Calling for a statement from the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being on the action that the Welsh Government is taking to address problem gambling amongst children and young people in Wales, Darren said:

“I know that the Welsh Government took the bold step of acknowledging that problem gambling is a public health menace and needs to be dealt with, and I was pleased to see that the Chief Medical Officer has referenced this in his annual reports on a number of occasions. 

“Last week many Members of the Senedd met with YGAM, the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust, a charity that's working with children and young people to address problem gambling and gambling harm, and the statistics, frankly, are pretty astonishing.

“We know that a third of 12 to 16-year-olds have actively been involved in gambling in the last 12 months, with 30 per cent of those gambling with their own money in the last year, and 70 per cent of teachers reported that their schools do not yet have a gambling harm prevention programme. 

“Given that that is the case, and that there doesn't seem to be any significant action being taken to educate our children and young people across Wales about the dangers of gambling, I wonder whether we could have a statement on the work that the Welsh Government is doing around this?”

Darren also called on the Welsh Government to ensure Wales has “a responsible esports and gaming industry, not one that promotes loot boxes and the kind of gambling that we've seen in that industry over the years.”