Gambling Commission stands by GSGB following first annual report release

The Gambling Commission (GC) believes the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) will allow the regulator to collect frequent data and improve understanding of changes in gambling behaviour, following the survey’s first annual release.

The GSGB was conducted between July 2023 and February 2024 and surveyed 9,804 people aged 18 and over who reside in the UK.

Reflecting on the results, the GC said participation rates were similar to previous surveys conducted by phone, and that many of the same patterns in the data were evident – though the regulator noted direct comparisons to previous surveys should not be made.

With the increased sample size, the regulator hopes the figure will reach 20,000, the GC said it would be able to “drill down” into key areas such as unique player profiles for each sector and the complexity of inter-play between them.

The GC clarified that more data will be added which will allow the regulator to remove its “over-reliance” on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) as a “proxy” for harm.

Ben Haden, GC director of research and statistics, remarked in a blog post on the GC site that the GSGB provides a “consistent and frequent” way of collecting data and will help to better understand changes in gambling behaviour in the UK.

Haden wrote: “After several years in development, we are delighted we have reached this point as we strive for better evidence to inform better decisions which will lead to better regulation.

“It has been a significant investment for the Gambling Commission – money, people and time – I would like to thank the team who have put so much into it over this considerable time to bring it to this point.

“We are now confident that we have an independently recognised robust methodology that will help us to track trends in gambling behaviour in the years to come.”

Haden went on to explain that there is now a need to build a better evidence base and understanding around people affected by gambling habits of those close to them and people “thinking of taking their own life”.

He emphasised great care is needed in how to use the statistics gathered by the survey but highlighted it will lead to better discussions and decision making in the longer term.

Adding that data can now be separated by country – England, Wales and Scotland – for the first time since 2010, which was a key point for stakeholders, Haden said there will be two in-depth reports released before Christmas.

He concluded: “When you combine this with the potential to do longitudinal follow up with respondents, link their survey data with their account data and the transparency of the datasets to increase the analytical eyes on it, it is clear GSGB has so much potential.

“When you see it as a key pillar of our consumer response, behaviour and transaction insight through our developing data sets from operators, surveys, qualitative work and open banking; it should help lead to a powerful step forward for the gambling evidence base.”

Prior to the release of the GSGB’s findings, industry insiders voiced their criticisms of the GC’s methodology for gathering the data, and accusing the regulator of using inaccurate data.