UKGC releases new consultation to clarify gambling research methodology

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UKGC releases new consultation to clarify gambling research methodology

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) launched a brand new consultation to its research methodology used to gather data on problem gambling and participation amongst players in the UK. 

The new consultation is predicted to launch on February 12th and is directed at helping regulators to point out possible changes to its current approach in the gambling industry. The news comes after the UK government launched its Gambling Act review with Call for Evidence from UKGC a month ago.

The UKGC is searching for guidance and feedback from consumers, licensees, charities, organisations interested in the field of study, and academics. The proposal is outlined in the consultation document in replacement to the health, telephone, and online surveys with a technique that the commission considers to be timely and cost-effective.

The commission claimed that:

We believe that the new approach will enable us to set the standard for authoritative research into gambling. These sanctions include the ability to consolidate questions on the participation of gambling and its prevalence in just a single survey while getting responses from a greater percentage of the population. The data collected is expected to represent the entirety of the British population in England, Scotland and Wales.

Furthermore, the commission said that the new research will be carried out by a reputable provider in an attempt to ensure operations follow official statistics production requirements, as well as the fact that research industry standards are met.

Nevertheless, it should be remarked that the regulator has the right to carry out changes to its research methods, utilizing the existing general population surveys or a new survey built for the specifications of the research.

The commission argued that:

It is important to emphasis that whatever option is chosen, ensuring objectivity and transparency in data collection and reporting would be of great importance to us. The commission and our lead government department, DCMs, are designed to produce official statistics and we are bound by the principles in the Code of Practice around trustworthiness, quality and value. In addition to this, we would seek advice on methodology and questionnaire designs from independent research experts and would publish full details of our survey design, response rates and quality assurance processes.

In light of this new development, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling-Related Harm commended the new review and the Vice-Chairman, Ronnie Cowan, said that the changes to the research are one of the legislative changes he was wishing would come about.

PM Boris Johnson declared on 4 January that England will enter its third and strictest lockdown since March 2020, forcing the land-based industry to shut down yet again.

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