Promoting Ethical Engagement in Sports

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:12 pm on 4 July 2018.

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Photo of Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas Independent 2:12, 4 July 2018

I accept, certainly, the points that you make, and you will remember that the First Minister did respond last week to a question from our mutual friend here, Mick Antoniw, about the cross-government group that's been established to develop a strategic approach to reducing gambling-related harm across Wales, and I think it is essential that we should look again at the recommendations from the chief medical officer's annual report, which called for co-ordinated action and identified new activity that might be required both at the Wales and the UK level. And, since I've been asked specifically about the relationship between both football and more particularly rugby with betting, I will certainly raise these issues with the governing bodies of sports where there appears to be a promotion of gambling activity alongside the sporting activity, because that is not the role of sport governing bodies. I understand that sport governing bodies benefit from income in different ways, and that is a commercial matter for them, but, where the health of the population is damaged by promoting activity related to sport, then we, the Government, should intervene.