UKGC Withholds Operator-Specific Safer Gambling Data
Regulator cites 'law enforcement' exemption to deny access to data on problem gambling interventions by major operators.
The UK Gambling Commission has refused a Freedom of Information request for data on how often major operators like Bet365 interact with at-risk customers. The regulator argued that releasing this information would damage its ability to police the industry effectively, leaving consumers unable to compare operators on this key safety metric.
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A Freedom of Information (FOI) request asking the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to release operator-specific data on safer gambling interventions has been refused, with the regulator arguing that disclosure would prejudice its ability to police the industry.
The request, dated 16 June 2024, sought the number of customer interactions logged due to concerns about problem gambling for major operators including Bet365, Flutter Entertainment, Entain, and 888 Group over the last four quarters.
The Request for Transparency
Under UKGC rules, licensed operators are required to implement policies for customer interaction when they have concerns that a customer’s behaviour may indicate problem gambling. They must log these specific interactions, which are then submitted to the Commission as part of their regular 'Regulatory Returns'.
This data provides a direct measure of how often an operator is stepping in due to potential signs of harm. Access to this information would allow consumers, for the first time, to directly compare the proactive safety measures of the UK's largest gambling companies.
The Commission's Refusal
Despite acknowledging a “legitimate public interest in promoting the accountability and transparency,” the UKGC withheld the information. It cited Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act, an exemption related to law enforcement.
The Commission’s response states that it relies on operators making “full and candid submissions” and that this information is provided with an understanding of confidentiality. The UKGC argued that releasing operator-specific data would damage this relationship.
According to the regulator, disclosure would make operators “less likely to share information with us in the future,” which would “undermine our regulatory functions and, as a consequence, have a detrimental impact on the wider public.”
In its public interest test, the Commission concluded that the need to maintain its regulatory effectiveness by protecting its sources of information outweighed the public’s interest in transparency on this issue.
What This Means for Consumers
The decision means that key data on how frequently individual operators are identifying and acting on signs of problem gambling will remain hidden from public view. While the UKGC uses this data to inform its high-level, anonymised industry statistics, consumers cannot use it to compare the safety records of the operators they choose to bet with.
The refusal highlights a fundamental tension between the Commission’s need to work with the industry and the public’s right to information that could inform safer gambling choices. For now, players are denied a potentially crucial metric for assessing which operators are most proactive in protecting their customers from harm.