The UK’s Gambling Commission has partnered with research suppliers to enhance its consumer voice framework, which aims to “delve deeper” into gambler behaviors.
The framework was developed to improve the Gambling Commission’s research capabilities. It has established partnerships with four research support companies to deepen understanding of gambling motivations and further explore gambling demographics.
The gambling consumer voice framework will now be supported by mixed methodology research firm Yonder Consulting; a qualitative research firm, Humankind Research; market research consultancy Savanta; and the UK-based Behavioural Insights Team.
“Behavioural Insights Team combines a deep understanding of human behavior with evidence-led problem solving to improve people’s lives,” commented Eleanor Collerton, Senior Advisor at the Behavioural Insights Team. She added, “We’re excited to contribute our expertise in experimental research to generate new insights, address key evidence gaps, and help ensure consumer voices shape meaningful and effective gambling policy, building on more than five years of work to reduce gambling harms in GB.”
Yonder Consulting has already established a working relationship with the Gambling Commission, having contributed to several research programs that examined the unlicensed market and the impact of bonus offers.
Each supplier has entered into a two-year contract with the Gambling Commission, which has the option to extend these contracts through 2029.
“With these four partners, we’re better equipped to commission high-quality research quickly and use a range of approaches to respond to emerging trends or risks as they develop,” said Laura Carter, head of research at the Gambling Commission. “The Consumer Voice program is central to our efforts to ensure our decisions are grounded in the lived experiences of all consumers and the evolving realities of gambling.”
### Gambling Survey for Great Britain Support
The Gambling Commission stated that the consumer voice framework complements its national Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB).
The latest GSGB study, published on 22 May, revealed that overall gambling participation in the UK from September 2024 to January 2025 decreased by three percentage points compared to the preceding three months.
The report highlighted that participation in gambling activities in the last four weeks of the survey stood at 46%, a decrease from 49% reported in the previous three-month study ending October 2024.
Following concerns about its reliability, the UK’s Office for Statistics Regulation, a regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority, undertook a review of the GSGB survey.
In a report published the same day as the latest results, the Office for Statistics Regulation issued nine recommendations to improve the GSGB study. It noted that there are no reasons why the data should not be disseminated. The recommendations urge the Gambling Commission to provide more detailed information on its quality assurance and validation processes and to clearly communicate potential biases that may influence statistical estimates in its releases.
Through partnerships with outside firms, the Commission aims to gain a better understanding of gambler’s behavior.