Compliance assessments
Request
I would like to request the annual number of Gambling Commission inspections for each year since the start of 2015.
I would like the data to be broken down into type of inspection e.g. on-site anti-money laundering inspection, Adult Gaming Centre inspection, etc.
Can the data please be supplied to me in Excel format and be as up to date as possible.
Response
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested the annual number of Gambling Commission inspections for each year since the start of 2015, broken down into type of inspection e.g. on-site anti-money laundering inspection, Adult Gaming Centre inspection, etc.
Please see the attached spreadsheet containing the figures for types of Assessments Compliance has conducted since FY 2014/15.
Compliance assesses an operator based on the licensed activities held. Therefore, we do not record an assessment as an Adult Gaming Centre assessment. For example, most Adult Gaming Centres could also hold Bingo or Family Entertainment Centre activities.
This information has been extracted from our records management system, where the details of Compliance assessments are stored. It should be noted that over the years we have changed the way we conduct and record these types of Assessments.
Review of the decision
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in a new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Further Response
We would like to apologise that there was an error in the data supplied in response to your Compliance Assessment FOI request dated 19 May 2025.
The assessment number columns were incorrectly labelled in our first response. For example, the ‘FY 24/25' column should have been entitled 'FY 25/26 (so far)', the 'FY 23/24' should have been entitled 'FY 24/25' and so on.
By way of context, compliance is the means by which the Commission secures assurance that our licensees are compliant with the law and the rules they must follow as conditions of their licence (the Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)). There are many different ways to do this, with full assessments being only one means by which we evaluate compliance. We have therefore additionally provided the table below, which gives a fuller picture of the number of compliance activities carried out over the period covered by your FOI request. These figures include the assessment numbers initially disclosed, but also show the breadth of other compliance activity.
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.
It is important to note that the significant increase in activities seen in the last two financial years reflects a change in our requirements on operators to report data to us and where we carried out focussed action to ensure compliance with the new requirements.
| Financial year | 2015 to 2016 | 2016 to 2017 | 2017 to 2018 | 2018 to 2019 | 2019 to 2020 | 2020 to 2021 | 2021 to 2022 | 2022 to 2023 | 2023 to 2024 | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 (year to date) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total compliance actions | 1,173 | 1,639 | 1,109 | 1,088 | 945 | 620 | 410 | 1,029 | 4,268 | 9,724 | 691 | 22,696 |
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.
Review of the decision
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Information Management Team Gambling Commission
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission
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