Overview
In this consultation document, we share our intentions with regard to changing the research methodology we use to collect gambling participation and problem gambling prevalence statistics[1].
We believe that this new approach will set the standard for authoritative research into gambling behaviour.
As part of our duty under the Gambling Act 2005 to advise the government on gambling in Great Britain and provide an effective regulatory function, we collect gambling participation and problem gambling prevalence data via surveys of adults in Great Britain. The data are published as official statistics – meaning they are produced in accordance with the standards set out by the Government Statistical Service in the Code of Practice for Statistics.
The Commission is ambitious about improving the quality, robustness and timeliness of our statistics. We therefore set out a commitment in our 2020/21 Business Plan to ‘review our approach to measuring participation and prevalence and publish conclusions’.
We are consulting to ensure all perspectives can be heard before we move to trial a new approach.
[1] For consistency, we have sought to use the established language used in this area; for example the 2010 British Gambling Prevalence Survey (BGPS) was introduced as a ‘nationally representative survey of participation in gambling and the prevalence of problem gambling in Great Britain’. Both the BGPS and Health Survey series have consistently distinguished between participation and prevalence, with prevalence specifically being used to describe rates of problem gambling.