NatCen to weigh in on UK Gambling Act Review

As the Gambling Act Review is drawing to a conclusion, or at least trying to, the Department for Culture, Media & Sports (DCMS) and the UK Gambling Commission have set out to create a Monitoring and Evaluation plan, so that the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed reforms can be carefully weighed before any potential implementation.

Although the process has involved feedback from the gambling industry, responsible gambling advocates, and lawmakers of all political hues, the pair has now turned to the National Center for Social Research (NatCen) to have another look at the changes as outlined in the review and decide whether they can be executed and to what degree.

The Gambling Act of 2005 began a march towards overhauling in 2020, as the government has come under mounting pressure to respond to the challenges of the digital era, which involved, among other things, increased spending on online gambling, a trend that picked up steam during the pandemic and the periods of prolonged lockdowns.

NatCen will seek to determine how effective the proposed changes to the Gambling Act Review would be in protecting vulnerable groups against gambling harm. The main objective would be to determine if there is an adequate balance between consumer freedoms – something insisted on by the industry – and sufficient safeguards that effectively reduce harm in the most at-risk groups.

A new study by Ygam and GAMSTOP has indicated that an alarmingly high number of student gamblers are in fact problem gamblers, which should offer some insight into where the country should focus its efforts, protecting younger people, as other jurisdictions, including the Netherlands, have done.

NatCen will also seek whether the Gambling Act Review treats the online and land-based gambling industries equally and accounts for their risks. To effect any changes, a Theory of Change will be developed, evaluating the Gambling Act Review and how the proposed changes may impact the market and consumers.

NatCen Director of Health Policy Dr Sokratis Dinos welcomed the opportunity to work on this project and help steer the national debate about gambling.

"We are delighted to work on this project, to develop this monitoring and evaluation plan of the vital Gambling Act Review. The past decade has seen a significant shift in the perspective of gambling harms, and this contract is pivotal in providing feasible approaches and practical recommendations," Dinos added.

This evaluation will also set out to better understand how the measures proposed by the government would impact the market and whether they would succeed in ensuring the safety of consumers, which is the purported goal of the Gambling Act Review in the first place.

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