Industry statistics – changes in reporting periods

Press release

Date: 13 August 2010

The Gambling Commission (the Commission) is changing the publication date for its annual statistics document from the summer to late in the year to ensure that the data we publish is as accurate as possible. 

It means that we will be changing to fiscal year reporting (1 April to 31 March) for the data we release from regulatory returns, so that direct comparisons can be made between all our data sets.

For the past few years we have published industry statistics separately from, but in the same timeframe as, our annual report and accounts (published in July each year). The figures used within annual reports are based on fiscal year figures, but since we started using data from the regulatory returns we have used provisional calendar year figures (1 January to 31 December) within the statistics document. This is because of the incomplete/poor quality of data for the fiscal year at the time of publication of the statistics document and was not ideal in providing an accurate picture. 

We have therefore thought long and hard about how to improve the accuracy of the data we publish and, at the same time align the reporting periods for all the data we publish,  and we have decided that the best way to do this is to put back the publication date to November/December. This gives us time to gather in all the regulatory returns that will cover the 12 month period up to 31 March each year* and analyse the results, particularly to pick up anomalies and errors that could distort the data.

We still aim to publish more regular updates of some of our statistics as provisional figures and to provide our betting integrity figures bi-annually. Additionally for this year, the regulatory returns data from the previous statistical release (ie calendar year 2008) will be re-run to reflect a fiscal year (2008/09) and therefore allow comparison with the forthcoming release of statistics for the fiscal year 2009/10.

Ends

Notes to editors

The Gambling Commission

  1. 1. The Gambling Commission (the Commission) regulates gambling in the public interest alongside its co-regulators local licensing authorities. It does so by keeping crime out of gambling, by ensuring that gambling is conducted fairly and openly, and by protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling. The Commission also provides independent advice to government on gambling in Britain.
  2. 2. The Commission and local licensing authorities are responsible for licensing and regulating all gambling in Great Britain other than the National Lottery and spread betting, which are the responsibility of the National Lottery Commission and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) respectively.
  3. 3. *There are three peak collection times through the year when regulatory returns are submitted – as at 31 December, as at 31 March and as at 30 September and operators that submit returns annually now have 42 days in which to submit their regulatory return.

Further information

  1. You can call John Travers on (0121) 230 6700, (07852) 124624 or email him via communications@gamblingcommission.gov.uk.