UKGC Only Asked Individuals About Gambling Harm
FOI reveals personal gambling questions were not posed to businesses, charities, or trade bodies in major 2023 consultation.
A Freedom of Information disclosure reveals the UK Gambling Commission only asked individuals—not businesses or charities—about their personal gambling habits and experiences with harm in its key Summer 2023 consultation. This clarifies the source of evidence used to shape new regulations.
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FOI Reveals Scope of Personal Data in Key Consultation
A Freedom of Information (FOI) disclosure has revealed that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) only posed questions about personal gambling habits and harm to individuals during its major Summer 2023 consultation, excluding organisations like gambling businesses, trade associations, and charities from this part of the survey.
The data, released following a request made on 4 June 2025, provides crucial context for how the regulator gathers evidence to shape future rules, including controversial topics like affordability checks.
Context: Who Shapes Gambling Regulation?
The UKGC's 'Summer 2023 consultation on proposed changes to Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)' was a critical step in implementing the government's White Paper reforms. The regulator invited feedback from a wide range of stakeholders to inform its decisions.
For consumers, understanding the profile of who provides evidence on personal gambling behaviour is vital. This FOI response clarifies that the data on gambling frequency and harm comes directly from individuals, not from the official positions of corporate or third-sector organisations.
The Data Breakdown
The FOI request asked for a breakdown of responses to four specific questions about personal gambling behaviour and its consequences. The questions covered:
- Frequency of gambling (Question 6)
- Recent online gambling (Question 7)
- Experience of harm from one's own gambling (Question 8)
- Experience of harm from someone else's gambling (Question 9)
The UKGC's response confirmed it only collected this data from respondents participating in a personal capacity. The groups and their respondent numbers were:
- Members of the public: 1,870
- Persons responding personally who work/worked in the gambling industry: 270
- Academics responding as individuals: 54
Notably, the UKGC stated: "We can confirm that we do not hold the information from the other respondent categories requested as we have only asked these consultation questions to those responding in a personal capacity."
This means that groups responding in an official capacity—such as gambling businesses, trade associations, charities, and other regulators—were not asked to provide this personal data.
Significance for Consumers
This disclosure highlights the UKGC's methodology for separating personal testimony from professional feedback. By ring-fencing questions about individual gambling habits and harm, the regulator ensures that the evidence base for these sensitive topics is drawn directly from people's lived experiences.
For consumers, this provides two key takeaways:
- Transparency: When the UKGC references data on gambling harm from this consultation, it is based on feedback from the public, academics, and some industry staff—not the official, consolidated views of gambling companies or lobbying groups.
- Importance of Participation: It underscores the value of individual members of the public participating in regulatory consultations. This is the primary channel for the regulator to hear directly about the personal impact of gambling and use that evidence to inform new consumer protection measures.