Meetings with Entain
Request
- Dates of all meetings you have had with Entain (including its employees and or representatives) between July 4 2024 and July 24 2024;
- The minutes of these meetings;
- Copies of any email correspondence between yourselves and Entain (including its employees and or representatives) between July 4 2024 and July 24 2024.
Response
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested:
- Dates of all meetings you have had with Entain (including its employees and or representatives) between July 4 2024 and July 24 2024;
- The minutes of these meetings;
- Copies of any email correspondence between yourselves and Entain (including its employees and or representatives) between July 4 2024 and July 24 2024.
Question 1:
Entain joined a Gambling Commission Financial Risk Pilot meeting held on 10 July 2024.
Question 2:
The Gambling Commission holds no information falling in scope of this part of your request.
Question 3:
Please see the attached information relating to the Financial Risk Pilot Meeting that the Commission are able to provide falling within the scope of your request.
The following exemptions apply to the attached information.
Section 40(2) Personal Information
Section 40(2) of FOIA exempts information from disclosure if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles. Therefore, in order to disclose this information, the Commission must be satisfied it has a lawful basis to do so.
The Data Protection Act 2018 requires the processing of personal data to be fair and lawful. The Commission considers that it would be disproportionate for us to publicly disclose the personal data of these individuals, as there is no strong public interest in doing so. The personal information includes email addresses and names.
There is no legitimate expectation that the personal information of these individuals will be disclosed in the context in which it is held.
On balance, there is no legitimate public interest in disclosing this information and it would not be fair to do so.
This information is therefore exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Section 22(1) Information intended for future publication
In relation to the Financial Risk Guardrails document referred to within the attached information, we consider this information to be exempt under section 22 of the FOIA.
Section 22(1) of the FOIA, provides that information is exempt if:
a. the information is held by the public authority with a view to its publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date (whether determined or not), b. the information was already held with a view to such publication at the time when the request for information was made,
This is a qualified exemption, therefore, the Commission must consider whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption is greater than the public interest in disclosing the requested information.
Arguments in favour of disclosure
It is recognised that there is a legitimate public interest in promoting the accountability and transparency of public authorities and in Government Departments providing information they hold that falls within the scope of a FOI request as quickly as possible.
Arguments in favour of maintaining the exemption
However, this needs to be balanced with the public interest in the Commission ensuring the maximum time/cost effectiveness; providing this information in response to a FOI request is not the most time/cost effective way of placing this information in the public domain when it will be published in due course on the Commission website.
Weighing the balance
Having considered the above factors, the Commission is of the view that the balance of the public interest lies in maintaining the exemption. There is no outstanding public interest in releasing this information prior to its intended publication. Given the necessary preparation and administration involved in publishing the information, we consider that our publication timetable is reasonable.
In relation to any other correspondence with Entain, section 31(3) of the FOIA applies.
Section 31(3) Section 31(3) of the FOIA (Law Enforcement) exemption applies and therefore we are unable to confirm or deny whether we hold any additional information within the scope of your request.
Section 31(3) (“Law Enforcement”) provides that the duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that compliance with section 1(1)(a) would or would be likely to, prejudice any of the matters mentioned in subsection (1).
Public Interest Test
Having acknowledged that the Commission is not able to confirm or deny whether we hold any information within the scope of your request; section 31 FOIA requires that we consider a public interest test to identify whether there is a wider public interest in fulfilling this request opposed to maintaining the exemption.
Gambling operators are required to provide detailed information to the Commission. Statutory mechanisms exist to compel the provision of information, but this is not always the most effective way to obtain information. We rely on the voluntary supply of information in order to perform our licensing, compliance and policy functions. In operator specific engagement, we rely on open and frank exchanges in order to reach decisions. Disclosing whether we hold operational information without sufficient rationale would undermine this trust and make operators less likely to co-operate with requests in future.
In Favour of Disclosure
We acknowledge that there is a legitimate public interest in promoting the accountability and transparency of the Commission. It is important that there is sufficient information in the public domain so consumers have an understanding of the regulatory activity that the Commission is taking with specific operators to enable them to make informed decisions regarding their choice of operator.
In Favour of Maintaining the Exemption
However, to disclose to the public whether we hold this information could impact on the free and frank exchange of information between the Commission and gambling operators which could ultimately result in consumers not being protected from operators who are unfit or incompetent in their activities.
Further to this, confirming or denying information which makes specific individuals or events identifiable is likely to impact on the openness of stakeholders when sharing important information with us or other law enforcement agencies.
Finally, once or if a formal regulatory decision has been made or there is agreement of a regulatory settlement, the Commission will ordinarily publish all such decisions in full. Fulfilling this request may prejudice the outcome of any ongoing or future investigation by the Commission, or another body, to the detriment of the public interest.
Weighing the Balance
Given the points considered, the Commission believes that the interests of the public are better served through maintaining the exemption. The nature of the information requested may prejudice the regulatory work by the Commission Therefore we are not in a position to confirm or deny whether we hold any information in relation to your 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 (opens in a new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission
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