Government says it will carefully consider results of controversial new gambling survey

The British government has said it will "carefully" consider the findings of a controversial new gambling survey published by the Gambling Commission on Thursday, amid concerns it overstates the rate of problem gambling.

The Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) is set to become the new official source for official statistics for the subject but its methodology has been heavily criticised, concerns acknowledged by the industry regulator.

The most controversial aspect of the survey has been the reported levels of problem gambling. The GSGB has found a problem gambling rate of 2.5 per cent of respondents, while the NHS Health Surveys from which official statistics were previously taken last reported a problem gambling rate of 0.3 per cent.

However, the commission said an independent review of the GSGB by Professor Patrick Sturgis of the London School of Economics had reported its estimates of problem gambling rates should be used with caution as there was a risk the new methodology "substantially overstates the true level of gambling and gambling harm in the population".

The commission has said it will "robustly tackle" misuse of the new statistics, warning that the figures contained within the GSGB are not directly comparable with results from previous surveys and should not be used to gross up the prevalence of problem gambling to the whole population due to the use of a differing methodology.

Nevertheless, campaigners have already used the figures to call on the government to take action, claiming current reforms are based on incorrect information, and some media reports appeared to disregard the commission's warnings.

Should the renewed calls for stricter regulation of the industry come to fruition, there could be ramifications for both punters and British racing if they result in increased interventions and the thresholds for affordability checks being revisited.

Special reports

• Part 1: How debunked stats and a selective approach to publishing research has misled the gambling reform debate 
• Part 2: The Gambling Commission's shocking new betting survey is drawing heavy criticism - so why is it still being published? 

Following publication of the GSGB, a government spokesperson said: "Most people gamble without issue, but we recognise the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families.

“As stated in the government's manifesto, we are absolutely committed to strengthening protections for those at risk.

"The Gambling Commission's new survey helps to show the wider picture of gambling behaviour across Great Britain and we will consider its findings carefully."

The Gambling Commission has claimed the GSGB will become one of the largest surveys of its type globally and will establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain.

Produced by the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Glasgow, the GSGB features responses from 9,804 people but will increase to around 20,000 by next year.

Industry body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has raised concerns that the first set of results may be unreliable.

A spokesperson said: "Our members are concerned these findings may be unreliable because there is a significant risk GSGB overstates gambling participation and gambling-related harm.

"Surveys using predominantly online self-completion consistently produce higher estimates of gambling participation and associated harms, compared to established alternative survey methods.

"The BGC and our members are committed to raising standards and we welcome any robust study that accurately gauges betting and gaming participation and problem gambling prevalence."

Those concerns were echoed by the BHA. British racing's governing body said in a statement: "As the Gambling Commission has made clear, the methodology used in this survey is different to previous gambling surveys and there is a risk that the GSGB may overstate some gambling behaviours.

“Betting on racing is an enjoyable pastime that the overwhelming majority of people enjoy safely and responsibly and we are working to ensure the low level of gambling-related harm linked to racing is further reduced."

The report found that 48 per cent of adults aged 18 and above had participated in any form of gambling in the previous four weeks, although that reduced to 27 per cent when those who participated only in lottery draws were excluded.

When asked to rate their feelings towards gambling, 41 per cent of adults who had gambled in the previous 12 months rated the last time they gambled positively and 21 per cent negatively, although those figures changed to 50 per cent and 19 per cent respectively when lottery draws were excluded.

Tim Miller: Gambling Commisison aiming to gather the "best possible evidence on gambling"

The Gambling Commission's executive director of research and policy Tim Miller said: "One of our aims as a regulator is to ensure we gather the best possible evidence on gambling – and today's publication is the next significant step forward in our journey on creating a robust source of evidence for gambling in Great Britain.

"Data in this report represents the first year of a new baseline, against which future changes can be compared and as such will prove invaluable in deepening further our understanding of gambling across the country."

Professor Sturgis claimed the new survey "will significantly enhance the evidence base on patterns and trends in gambling behaviour" and that it "implements state-of-the-art methodology to a very high standard".

David Brohan, gaming and leisure analyst with stockbrokers Goodbody, described the GSGB as an "interesting report", and one likely to receive "a lot of traction in the media".

He added: "However, given the change in methodology versus prior surveys, it has limited practical use in our view in the first year, with its usefulness increasing substantially over time."

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