UKGC Held No RTP Misunderstanding Research (2017-21)
FOI reveals a lack of specific documentation on a key consumer protection issue during a five-year period.
A Freedom of Information request shows the UK Gambling Commission held no specific research on how consumers misunderstand Return to Player (RTP) from 2017 to 2021. This raises questions about the evidence base for gambling regulation during a key period.
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A Freedom of Information (FOI) response has revealed that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) held no specific research or internal documents relating to consumer misunderstanding of Return to Player (RTP) between 2017 and 2021.
The disclosure, published on the regulator's website, responds to a request dated 14 July 2025. It suggests a potential gap in the evidence base used by the Commission during a critical period of regulatory development.
Why This Matters for Players
Return to Player, or RTP, is a crucial concept for consumers, particularly those who play online slots. It represents the theoretical percentage of all wagered money that a specific game will pay back to players over a vast number of gameplays—often millions of spins.
A common misunderstanding is that a 96% RTP means a player will get £96 back for every £100 they bet in a single session. In reality, RTP is an average calculated over the long term, and short-term results can vary dramatically. This cognitive misinterpretation can lead to flawed expectations about winning and potentially influence harmful gambling behaviour. Understanding how players perceive RTP is therefore central to effective consumer protection.
Details of the FOI Request
The request asked the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) for any internal or commissioned research, summaries, memos, or policy documents produced or referenced between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2021. The scope was specific to:
- Players' understanding or misunderstanding of RTP.
- Cognitive misinterpretation of gambling odds by players.
- Findings used to inform updates to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) or Remote Technical Standards (RTS).
In its response, the Commission stated it searched its systems using the phrases “Consumer misunderstanding of return to player” and “Consumer misunderstanding of RTP” for the specified five-year period.
The outcome was definitive: "The above search did not return any results therefore, based on these search parameters, no information is held falling within the scope of your request."
Significance for Regulation
The 2017-2021 period was significant for gambling regulation in the UK. The Commission introduced numerous changes to its LCCP and RTS, including rules on game design and the information provided to players. This period also preceded the UK Government's major Gambling Act Review.
The finding that no documents matching specific, intuitive search terms on RTP misunderstanding were held raises questions about the specific evidence the regulator relied upon when formulating policy around game transparency and player information.
While the Commission may hold related research under different titles or search terms, the official response indicates that dedicated, easily identifiable work on this precise consumer protection issue was not present in its records for that five-year timeframe. For consumers, this highlights the ongoing challenge of ensuring that gambling products are designed and presented in a way that is truly understood by the average player.