UK LEGAL COMMENT In the face of these views and contrary information, can the


Gambling Commission’s telephone survey be trusted? The regulator’s research uses the short-form Problem Gambling Severity Index (“PGSI”). The conclusions reached in this survey as to whether an individual is a problem gambler or an at-risk gambler are based on just three questions about their gambling activity in the past year: 1. Have you bet more than you could really afford to lose? 2. Have people criticized your betting or told you that you had a gambling problem, regardless of whether or not you thought it was true?


3. Have you felt guilty about the way you gamble or what happens when you gamble? The responses are scored from 0 to 3 (never, sometimes, most of the time or almost always) with a total score of 4+ indicating the respondent is a problem gambler. Compared to the full long-form PGSI survey six questions have been removed, including those asking about chasing losses, health problems and whether the respondent themselves consider they have a problem with their gambling. The sample size of this survey is 4,000 people, so the actual number of respondents identified as problem gamblers (around 9 people) is very low. Extrapolating from that to the overall number of problem gamblers in the country (0.2% of adults would give approximately 120,000 people, down from 360,000 people 3 years ago) is a stretch. The combination of a small sample size and limited information gathered to identify problem gambling means any conclusions drawn from these results should be treated with caution. The number of respondents scoring a total of 2 or 3 points


(for example, someone responding “sometimes” to all three questions) and identified as a “moderate risk gambler” had fallen from 1.2% in 2019 to 0.8% in 2021, but in 2022 is back up to 1.3%. However, those classified as “low risk gamblers” (answering “sometimes” to just one question) has fallen from 2.7% in 2019 to 1.7% in 2022. In the breakdown of results by age and gender we see even greater fluctuations, for example a significant reduction in the number of “low risk” 16-24 year olds over the past three years, down from 6.3% to 2.2% and no problem gamblers identified at all in the 45+ age categories in 2022. Despite clear limitations and unexplained variations in the


data, the Commission’s research certainly provides evidence against a significant rise in problems associated with gambling. Conscious of the need for more accurate date, in 2020, the Gambling Commission began work on a new survey methodology which would ask respondents about 27 measures of harm.


It


has stated that the new questions will be included “alongside existing measures of participation and problem gambling”, with the latest pilot survey taking place in January 2023. Until recently, data on problem gambling rates was of course


of interest and relevance to the industry, but had no direct regulatory implications. However, since September 2022, it has been a social responsibility code provision for remote operators to “take account of problem gambling rates for the relevant gambling activity as published by the Commission, in order to check whether the number of customer interactions is, at a minimum, in line with this level”. No such requirement exists for non-remote operators, at least for now. The Commission’s quarterly telephone survey does not attempt to break problem gambling rates down by activity. The


LCCP requirement therefore refers licensees to data from the Health Survey for England 2018. This is a year in which overall problem gambling rates were (according to the Commission’s research) over double what they are today, so questions must be raised about the accuracy and relevance of its data to customers playing in 2023. It is problem gambling rates amongst those participating in


individual gambling activities which are relevant to operators, when it comes to assessing whether their rates of customer interaction are adequate. The Health Survey gives a rate of 8.5% among those gambling on online slots, casino or bingo games, so the Commission expects online casino operators to have responsible gambling interactions with at least 8.5% of their customers. We cannot know for sure until more up to date survey results are published (data from 2021 is expected to be released in Spring 2023), but it seems reasonable to expect a similar overall reduction to that found by the Commission, which would lead to a much lower expected rate of customer interaction. At the moment, it seems that remote operators are currently


being asked by the LCCP to interact with at least twice the number of customers as are in fact likely to be problem gamblers today. In seeking to demonstrate compliance with their licence, some operators may be having unnecessary interactions with a significant number of customers, when they could be focussing on those displaying indicators of harm. On the other hand, if the Commission’s data is inaccurately low (as implied by some responses to the DCMS Committee), the number of interactions may still be insufficient. If the Commission really considers it important that the number of interactions matches the expected rates of problem gambling, it should be alarmed that the data available on these rates apparently does not reflect reality. Safer gambling interventions, whether through legislation,


licence conditions or by operators should be evidence-based if they are to be effective. It is clear that the Government, the Gambling Commission and gambling operators will all benefit from accurate and reliable data on the scale of problem gambling in the UK.


Melanie is a gambling regulatory lawyer with 13 years’ experience in the sector. Melanie advises on all aspects of gambling law including licence applications, compliance, advertising, licence reviews and changes of control. She has acted for a wide range of gambling operators including major online and land-based bookmakers and casinos, B2B game and software suppliers and start-ups. She also frequently advises operators of raffles, prize competitions, free draws and social gaming products. Melanie has a particular interest in the use of new technology for gambling products and novel product ideas.


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