UKGC Lacks Historical Gambling Premises Data

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Regulator Does Not Keep Historical Venue Records

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) does not hold historical data on the location of licensed gambling premises. The disclosure confirms that anyone seeking to analyse trends in the number or location of betting shops, casinos, or arcades over time cannot obtain this information from the national regulator.

In the request, dated 4 December 2025, an applicant asked for datasets of licensed premises for the years 2015 and 2020. The UKGC responded that the information is not held.

Why This Data Matters

Tracking the physical presence of gambling venues is crucial for understanding the industry's impact on communities. Historical data allows researchers, local councils, and public health bodies to analyse:

• The growth or decline of high street betting.
• The clustering of gambling venues in specific, often deprived, areas.
• The effectiveness of local planning policies aimed at managing gambling-related harm.

Without a central, historical register, it is impossible to build a national picture of these long-term trends. This lack of data significantly complicates efforts to research the relationship between accessibility, venue density, and rates of gambling harm.

Details of the UKGC Response

The Commission explained that it only publishes a 'live register' of gambling premises, which is updated nightly. In its response, the UKGC stated: "The register is generated dynamically, pulling data directly from our live systems at the point of publication. As such, we do not hold specific records for previous years, such as 2015 or 2020."

This means that each day, the previous day's data is effectively overwritten, leaving no historical record. The regulator also added a significant caveat about the data it does publish, noting that it "cannot provide any assurances on the completeness and accuracy of this data."

Furthermore, the UKGC clarified that it does not issue premises licences itself. This responsibility falls to local licensing authorities, typically the local council for the area where the business is located.

Significance and Industry Implications

The UKGC's response highlights a significant data gap in the oversight of British gambling. While the Commission regulates operators and online activities, the historical footprint of the land-based industry is not centrally tracked.

This places a considerable burden on those seeking the information. To build a historical national picture, a researcher would need to submit individual requests to hundreds of separate licensing authorities across the UK, a time-consuming and often impractical task.

The fragmented nature of this data means that understanding how the high street gambling landscape has evolved over the past decade remains a major challenge for policymakers and consumer protection advocates.