Regulatory settlement fine and RET contributions

Request

I am writing to make a Freedom of Information request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I would like to request the regulatory settlement fine and RET contributions by operator, organised by GGY, in a spreadsheet showing the annual totals for the last five financial years

Please include the following information for each operator in the spreadsheet:

• The name of the operator
• The GGY for that operator for that year
• The regulatory settlement fine for that operator for that year
• The RET contribution for that operator for that year
• The financial year

If the requested information is not available for the last five financial years, please provide the information for the previous financial year available.

I understand that under the Act, I am entitled to a response within 20 working days of your receipt of this request. If for any reason you are unable to provide the information requested, please let me know as soon 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 regulatory settlement fine and RET contributions by operator, organised by GGY, in a spreadsheet showing the annual totals for the last five financial years

Please include the following information for each operator in the spreadsheet:

• The name of the operator
• The GGY for that operator for that year
• The regulatory settlement fine for that operator for that year
• The RET contribution for that operator for that year
• The financial year

The Gambling Commission is a regulatory body with licensing, compliance and enforcement functions; through our regulatory activity, the Commission aims to protect consumers and the wider public, and to raise standards in the gambling industry.

Section 21 of the FOIA provides that information is exempt where it is reasonably accessible elsewhere, we release details of our enforcement activity through public statements.

The public statements will detail the nature of the failings by the operator and the amount of the fine or settlement. Further to this, the Commission also publishes a list of recent regulatory sanctions we have imposed on licence holders.

Further to this, we also publish the list of organisations where operators must make an annual financial contribution which are approved by the Commission, and which between them deliver or support research into the prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms, harm prevention approaches and treatment for those harmed by gambling.

List of organisations for operator contributions - Gambling Commission

I can confirm that the Commission does hold further information falling within the scope of your request, however, the Commission is of the view that this information is exempt under Section 43(2) of the FOIA.

Releasing the Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) of individual operators relates to the performance of the business and is not otherwise in the public domain. Further to this the Gambling Commission’s ‘Statement of principles for determining financial penalties’ explicitly states that operators must not generate positive publicity from the settlement.

Section 43(2) of the FOIA provides that information is exempt information if: its disclosure under the FOIA would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).

Having acknowledged that information within the scope of your request is exempt from disclosure, section 43 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.

Public interest test

The factors the Gambling Commission has considered when applying the public interest test have been detailed as follows.

Arguments in favour of disclosure

The arguments in favour of disclosure are as follows:

• it is recognised that there is a legitimate public interest in promoting the transparency of the Commission and in making information available to the public. Further to this, in understanding the performance of the gambling industry
• there is a legitimate public interest in members of the public having confidence the Commission is being open and honest with the data it holds so that it can be held to account.

Arguments in favour of maintaining the exemption

The arguments in favour of maintaining the exemption are as follows:

• licensed operators have a reasonable expectation that this level of detail would not be published on an individual basis
• an extensive range of aggregated or anonymised data is already available to the public to give a necessary level of understanding of the gambling industry. Operators have a reasonable expectation that such information would not be published on an individual basis
• detail of individual companies does not contribute to the understanding of overall performance of the industry as a whole
• releasing this information would be likely to provide competitors with a commercial advantage as they would be able to see the position of competing operators
• we consider that disclosing the information could discourage licensees from freely providing information to the Commission in future, which would likely prejudice the Commission’s ability to monitor and regulate its licensees
• providing operator specific information regarding the information requested could lead to comparisons being made between operators, leading to unjustified inferences being made without the full context.

Weighing the balance

Whilst the Gambling Commission aims to be open and transparent, there is a need to preserve the confidentiality of information relating to licensed operators and to be mindful of the commercial sensitivities of information that is held. In our view there is more than a 50% chance that prejudice to the Commercial Interests of licensees would be caused by disclosure and the Commission’s view is that the public interest is best served through maintaining this exemption.

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.

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
Victoria Square House
Victoria Square
Birmingham B2 4BP