The Gambling Commission (GC) has blasted “misleading” media coverage regarding its compliance activity after the regulator published a Freedom of Information (FOI) request which included an error.
Earlier this month, The Times published a story in which it noted that the number of inspections carried out by the regulator has declined drastically 98% over the course of the last 10 years.
The reporting stemmed from a recently filed FOI request made to the GC, in which it was asked to provide a spreadsheet documenting the annual number of inspections it has carried out since the beginning of 2015.
The original request also asked for data to be broken down into “type of inspection”. The GC did not provide such a breakdown.
However, the GC broadly complied with the FOI request, releasing a spreadsheet that contained the figures related to assessments it has carried out on both land-based and online operators, disclosing the number of full and targeted evaluations.
However, the authority has since conceded that its own data spreadsheet was submitted incorrectly and apologised. The GC has outlined that the spreadsheet’s columns were incorrectly labelled.
For example, the ‘FY 23/24’ column should have been labelled ‘FY 24/25’, while ‘FY 24/25’ should have read ‘FY 25/26 so far’.
The GC added the initially released data only covered compliance assessments, which the body said formed just one part of its regulatory arsenal.
In turn, the GC published a broader table that discloses the full number of all “compliance activities” as part of an update to its original FOI disclosure. The broader table still did not include which type of inspection took place.
The regulator explained: “Recognising the significant shift towards online gambling, and developments in the regulatory obligations and licence conditions placed on licensees, we have increased our investment in technology and introduced a targeted model of assessing licensees.
“We have moved away from a high volume of small-scale assessments to larger scale assessments of licensed operators.
“Our compliance team focuses its resources on activities that help identify issues more proactively to have the maximum impact for consumers.”
Over the course of 2024-25, the GC completed 9,724 compliance actions, the highest number within the time frame requested by considerable distance, with 2023-24 the second highest at 4,268.
The GC added: “The recent media coverage in response to the FOI request only focussed upon one form of compliance tool rather than considering the totality of regulatory actions that we take under the Gambling Act 2005.
“As a result, it gives a misleading impression about the volume of our compliance activity.”
“With the exception of a drop in land-based activities as a result of government-mandated closures of gambling venues during Covid-19 related lockdowns, high levels of compliance activities have continued over the entirety of the period covered by your FOI request.
“We refute any suggestion that our compliance activity has declined, albeit we recognise how that conclusion was reached as a result of the narrow data set initially disclosed in response to the FOI request.”
Speaking to EGR, a GC spokesperson added: “The Commission uses a wide range of different regulatory tools to gain assurance and assess compliance levels.
“When all regulatory activities are included our compliance work has remained consistently high over the last 10 years, save for a reduction in land-based work during the Covid-19 lockdown periods. Therefore, any suggestion that the Commission has reduced the work it does to regulate the gambling industry is incorrect.
“The response to the FOI request did not cover the full range of regulatory tools that the Commission uses to ensure compliance by operators. Using a very small snapshot of one type of compliance activity gives a very misleading view of the Commission’s actual range of regulatory work.”
EGR understands The GC has informed The Times of the FOI update.
EGR has contacted The Times for comment.
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Regulator admits it made an error in an initial FOI response that contained “narrow data set”, as it hits out at media reports which used said data in reports earlier this month
The post Gambling Commission bemoans “misleading impression” of its compliance activities first appeared on EGR Intel.