The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has set out a three-year plan to fill gambling evidence gaps. The Evidence Gaps and Priorities programme runs 2023-2026 and comes in the aftermath of the Gambling Act Review White Paper publication, with the regulator highlighting an opportunity over the coming years to make UK gambling safer, fairer and crime-free.
“As part of our role as a people-focussed and evidence-led regulator, we are constantly studying and delivering ways to improve our data, research and evidence,” the UKGC stated. “This work supports better regulation and better outcomes for the millions of consumers who gamble in Great Britain.”
The new programme outlines “a cohesive and consistent framework” for improving the evidence base, in line with the UKGC’s regulatory duties. Following the Setting the Evidence Agenda conference earlier this year, the three-year plan is also set to help external stakeholders better understand the scope of the regulator’s remit and where they can contribute to improving the evidence base.
The UKGC said it has identified six evidence themes that cover the gaps and research questions that the plan aims to answer, enabling a more efficient regulation. The six themes are:
- Early gambling experiences and gateway products
- The range and variability of gambling experiences
- Gambling-related harms and vulnerability
- The impact of operator practices
- Product characteristics and risk
- Illegal gambling and crime.
Starting with gateway gambling products, the Commission will look at the gambling behaviors exhibited by people under the age of 16, between the ages of 16 and 17 and young adults aged between 18 to 24 years old. The regulator will gather evidence on how young people begin gambling, and how gambling behaviors change over time as children become older.
Moving to gambling-related harms, the UKGC will seek to understand how players can experience harm in different ways and improve its ways to identify those at risk of problem gambling. The regulator will utilize the Gambling Survey for Great Britain to analyze what groups are experiencing gambling harm.
Other initiatives will see the UK regulator assess how operator practices influence customer behavior and looking at whether firms can do more to enforce safer gambling. The Commission will also analyze how certain products may pose a greater risk of harm for certain customers through access to account-level data.
Illegal gambling and crime is also another key theme. Research will be undertaken to assess consumers’ knowledge about illegal gambling operations, and research questions will center on why consumers might bet on the illegal market and how consumers are able to tell if they are betting with an unlicensed operator.
“We are building on a strong foundation, but with the Gambling Act Review White Paper now published, it’s clear that the next few years give a real opportunity to make decisive progress towards gambling in Great Britain being safer, fairer and crime-free,” stated Tim Miller, UKGC’s Executive Director of Research and Policy. “If we can all play our part in addressing the evidence gaps identified, I know we will have the tools to make the most of that opportunity.”