The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has confirmed that it will be piloting its new research schemes on gambling participation and prevalence during the period of October 2021 and March 2022. 

The Commission stated that it had moved onto the next phase of its headline project to improve the quality of adult gambling participation and prevalence statistics available to stakeholders.  

Entering 2021, the Commission launched its consultation on ‘research methodologies’, seeking feedback on a new approach to collecting gambling prevalence data that had been conducted by surveys of UK adults. This was done in accordance with the standards set out by the Government Statistical Service in the ‘Code of Practice for Statistics.

Following the consultation phase, the UKGC launched a research partner tender that saw the NatCen Social Research and the University of Glasgow appointed to lead the pilot phase of testing new methodologies.

A statement from the UKGC read: “NatCen Social Research and the University of Glasgow in partnership with Bryson Purdon Social Research, will be testing a new methodology for collecting participation and prevalence statistics, including information on broader gambling harms.”

Beginning this October, UKGC research partners will pilot the wider methodologies of stakeholder engagement and cognitive testing, alongside a new modified online survey. All pilot data will be evaluated, with recommendations put forward for the next phase of the research project.

The UKGC maintained that any prevalence data published as ‘official statistics’ will continue to be produced in accordance with the government’s Code of Practice for Statistics.

“We will continue to evaluate and develop the new approach with the aim of rolling on a continuous basis which will see the introduction of a single population survey for the whole of Great Britain and give the Commission the ability to gain timely insights and respond to emerging trends,” the UKGC concluded.