The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will aim to improve how the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) provides a more ‘clear picture’ of British gambling behaviours to better inform research and policy.
Data collection and evidence is viewed as a principal mandate of the Gambling Commission and its governance of licences, particularly in the context of shifting regulations and the long-running review of the Gambling Act.
The UKGC has been keen to see data play a bigger role in how the industry responds to problem gambling and gambling-related harm. The regulator has often cited financial services, where data sharing is widespread, as an ideal example to follow.
This approach led to the creation of the GSGB, though the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) has made several recommendations for how this survey can be improved. The Gambling Commission is now mapping out how exactly it is working on this.
Following a two-year of academic preparation in its research design and methodology, the UKGC published the first data-set of the GSGB survey in July 2024.
Significant changes saw survey data collected from approximately 20,000 adult respondents each year (aged 18+) — as the UKGC fulfils its mandate to develop gambling most comprehensive survey on prevalence and behaviours.
“Since the GSGB was launched as our official statistics on gambling behaviours, we are pleased to note that the statistics have been widely cited and used by a variety of end users including researchers, policy makers, the media and politicians,” said Ben Haden, UKGC Director of Research and Statistics.
“We hope this will grow over time as more users become familiar with the dataset. We know some users lack confidence in the new methodology and where there have been examples where statistics from the GSGB have been used incorrectly, this report outlines how we are acting on this.”
Back to basics
In 2023 the UKGC commissioned two researchers, Professor Patrick Sturgis and Professor Jouni Kuha, with conducting a review of the GSGB’s methodology. The OSR believes that a communication plan is needed to map out how the academics’ recommendations are being adopted.
The Gambling Commission states that results from experimental research will be published later this summer, with the second annual GSGB report, covering 2024, to be published on 2 October 2025 – the regulator plans to onboard feedback from this experimental research in the report.
It also states that it has updated the survey improvement plan with the detail that results from the GSGB will be benchmarked against the 2024 Health Survey for England (HSE) and the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS).
On top of this, the OSR also recommended that the Gambling Commission provide more detailed information on survey’s quality assurance and validation processes. It argued that this would improve user confidence in the survey itself.
To achieve this, the UKGC states that it is reviewing and consolidating information and will review a technical report before the 2024 GSGB Annual Report is published.
The regulator will also publish a new research governance framework later this summer and look into whether the GAGC should secure accredited official statistics status, and what benefits this status could bring.
Communication is key says OSR
It stands to reason that for a survey like the GSGB to be successful and help inform UKGC research and policy objectives, users (i.e. British bettors and gamblers) should be well informed about what they are participating in.
The OSR recommended that potential biases should be clearly communicated to GSGB users, while Professor Strugis concluded that survey estimates may risk overstate some gambling behaviours.
In response, the UKGC has updated guidance to include more examples of how statistics can and can’t be used, has made this guidance easier for users to find, and finally has committed to reviewing and updating guidance in the future.
The Gambling Commission also plans to change the way it writes and publishes statistical releases to better clarify biases, and explain any potential impacts that could result from these. This may have a bearing on how data around problem gambling prevalence in the UK is presented and received.
On the topic of guidance, the UKGC has taken on board an OSR recommendation that guidance should include a section on comparability with previous surveys.
A distinction is needed, as the GSGB and its new methodology replace the long-standing use of the HSE as a source of gambling data. The HSE, was widely viewed by practitioners as a general health survey, offering only a single segment on gambling harms and was limited to respondents in England and Wales.
This will include a table comparing GSGB collection mode, questionnaire content, age coverage, sample size, response rate, and geographic coverage against the HSE and the Gambling Commission’s previous telephone survey
An international and cross-jurisdictional comparison may also be included in this. The UKGC states that it has noted a similar Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) of eight or more scores from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, standing at 3.3% and 3% respectively, just above the Great Britain average of 2.5%.
To maintain engagement with users and stakeholders, the Gambling Commission states that it will continue to use its webinars, podcasts, e-bulletin newsletters, and the annual spring conference to explain GSGB data collection and how said data is being used.
In response to the OSR’s recommendations around communications, it also plans to make use of engagement panels, conference sessions, user research on its online hub, a launch webinar, blog posts, engagement by senior objectives, and social media, when it publishes the 2024 GSGB report.
Lastly, the regulator plans to build on its existing network of stakeholders, including other regulators and government departments, by presenting at conferences, further developing the GSGB online hub, and encouraging more to join its user group.
Good timing?
The Gambling Commission’s planned updates to the GSGB come at an interesting time, with the recommendations of the Gambling Act review White Paper still being rolled out while the industry continues to face political pressure.
Estimates like the severity of problem gambling in the UK have the potential to become big talking points over the coming months. Just last week, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform (APPG GR) put out a call for another look at UK gambling regulation.
Although the review’s recommendations are still being implemented, the group of reformist MPs argue that the White Paper has not gone far enough – and that gambling needs to be framed as a public health issue instead. Stats and data will become crucial in this unfolding debate.
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