Perceptions of gambling in Ireland
Request
Please can you supply me with all Gambling Commission correspondence and materials (including analysis and assessments) relating to the following publications?
- ÓCeallaigh, D., Timmons, S., Robertson, D. & Lunn, P.(2023a) Measures of problem gambling, gambling behaviours and perceptions of gambling in Ireland. ESRI (Dublin)
- ÓCeallaigh, D., Timmons, S., Robertson, D. & Lunn, P. (2024) Problem Gambling: a narrative review of important policy-relevant issues. ESRI (Dublin)
Response
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested all Gambling Commission correspondence and materials (including analysis and assessments) relating to the following publications?
- ÓCeallaigh, D., Timmons, S., Robertson, D. & Lunn, P.(2023a) Measures of problem gambling, gambling behaviours and perceptions of gambling in Ireland. ESRI (Dublin)
- ÓCeallaigh, D., Timmons, S., Robertson, D. & Lunn, P. (2024) Problem Gambling: a narrative review of important policy-relevant issues. ESRI (Dublin)
Please see the linked information held by the Gambling Commission falling within the scope of your request.
We have redacted information relating to identifiable individuals that would constitute personal data from all of the attachments. This includes names and email addresses.
The Data Protection Act 2018 requires personal data to be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject. It is the view of the Commission that disclosing the personal information within the attached documents would constitute the disclosure of personal data and would contravene this principle.
This information is therefore exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
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 new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Internal Review Request
Thank you for your response to my FOI request (REF/LO/2W/2R/92/). I would like to appeal the decision on the grounds that I believe certain information has not been disclosed.
By way of example, the ESRI research that formed the subject of my request is mentioned in the Gambling Commission's 'GSGB Review and response to OSR report', published in July 2025. It is not plausible that the Gambling Commission would have referred to the ESRI research without first undertaking some assessment of its quality. I believe that the ESRI research may have been mentioned in other documents and correspondence, potentially including correspondence with the Gambling Regulation Authority of Ireland.
I therefore request a review of the disclosures made in response to my Freedom of Information request.
Internal Review Response
I am writing to you further to your Freedom of Information request dated 29/07/2025 which we responded to on 04/09/25025, and your subsequent request for an internal review received on 10/09/2025.
We have now concluded our review and our findings are detailed below.
This internal review was conducted by someone who was not involved in the processing of your original request.
In your initial email you requested copies of all Gambling Commission correspondence and materials (including analysis and assessments) relating to the following publications:
- ÓCeallaigh, D., Timmons, S., Robertson, D. & Lunn, P.(2023a) Measures of problem gambling, gambling behaviours and perceptions of gambling in Ireland. ESRI (Dublin)
- ÓCeallaigh, D., Timmons, S., Robertson, D. & Lunn, P. (2024) Problem Gambling: a narrative review of important policy-relevant issues. ESRI (Dublin)
To fulfil your request, we searched our systems using the following search terms:
- "Measures of problem gambling, gambling behaviours and perceptions of gambling in Ireland" OR
- "Problem Gambling: a narrative review of important policy-relevant issues" OR
- "REDACTED@esri.ie" OR
- "REDACTED@esri.ie"
We then performed a manual review of all the records which were returned and provided you with some information falling within the scope of your request.
In our initial response, we advised that some of the information held by the Gambling Commission, within the scope of your request, was exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We provided an explanation for this exemption, advising that personal data has been exempt as that disclosure would involve disclosing the personal data of an individual who can be identified from the information. This included information such as staff names and email addresses.
In your request for an internal review, you expressed that you wish to appeal our initial decision on the grounds that you believe certain information has not been disclosed. For example, that the ESRI research may have been mentioned in other documents and correspondence, potentially including correspondence with the Gambling Regulation Authority of Ireland.
Internal Review
Upon receiving your request for an internal review, we searched our systems using the additional search terms
- ESRI and Gambling Regulation Authority of Ireland.
After conducting another manual review of all of the records which were returned, we identified one further extract from a document which falls within the scope of your request.
This extract is from a document titled “Gambling Reform in Ireland – Panel Doc” and has been copied below for your information:
“3. Public Health Measures – ban on inducements, advertising restrictions, establishment of exclusion register and a social fund - The commentary around these issues has been varied and attendees may have noticed a certain ramping up in the last view months – two indicative examples – ESRI research commissioned by the Implementation Team Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland of the and REDACTED.”
After reviewing the other records downloaded within both our original and secondary search results, along with our initial response, I can confirm that you were provided with all other appropriate information falling within the scope of your request. I also believe that reasonable efforts were made to find and retrieve the requested information.
Personal Data of Third Parties
Finally, where we have refused to disclose information on the grounds that it constitutes personal data relating to other individuals; it should be recognised that this exemption applies namely to Commission staff.
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 disclose the personal data contained within these records which reveals the identity of its staff, as there is no strong public interest in doing so. There is no legitimate expectation that the personal information of these individuals will be disclosed in the context in which it is held and on balance, there is no legitimate public interest in disclosing this information and it would not be fair to do so.
Having reviewed our initial response, I uphold our decision to exempt this information under the provisions of Schedule 2 to the DPA in relation to the personal data of third parties.
If you are not content with the outcome of your review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Gambling Commission. 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
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