UKGC Faces Scrutiny Over Stats Watchdog Survey Credibility

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is under pressure after the country’s statistics watchdog raised red flags about the credibility of its Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB). 

The GSGB Could Mislead Policymakers

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), responsible for providing “independent regulation of all official statistics produced in the UK”, has published a detailed review of the survey.

The OSR has warned that its current design may overstate both gambling participation and harm, with potential consequences for public policy.

The OSR’s review comes as a result of complaints from industry stakeholders regarding the GSGB’s methodology and alleged lack of transparency. 

While the survey is the largest of its kind, it has consistently reported higher problem gambling rates than other official sources, such as the Health Survey for England (HSE). 

The rate discrepancy has raised concerns over the possibility that policymakers could be misled into overreacting.

One of the most prominent voices raising concerns is Professor Patrick Sturgis, who conducted an independent evaluation of the GSGB earlier this year. 

He concluded there’s “a non-negligible risk” that the survey “substantially over-states the true level of gambling and gambling harm in the population,” adding that “policymakers should treat the findings with due caution.”

“More Should Be Done” to Highlight Limitations

The OSR echoed these concerns, noting that key caveats were often buried in technical appendices rather than being highlighted in reports. 

“We have judged that more should be done to highlight these limitations within the statistical bulletins themselves,” the regulator said.

Transparency issues were another sticking point. Complaints alleged that the Commission wasn’t upfront about potential biases, such as gamblers being more likely to participate in a gambling-focused survey, and failed to reconcile the GSGB’s findings with other industry data.

UKGC’s director of research and statistics, Ben Haden, responded: “We welcome the findings from OSR… and their overall review of the GSGB,” noting that improvements were already underway.

Still, critics like Regulus Partners continue to argue that the Commission is not taking the feedback seriously enough. 

“One would be hard-pressed to find any acceptance of the] criticisms in the Gambling Commission’s statement,” Regulus analysts said, accusing the UKGC of brushing off the OSR’s reservations. The Commission has promised a more detailed response by July, with the next GSGB report due in October. Whether it seizes this moment to rebuild trust through transparency remains to be seen.