Underage Gambling
Request
For the period 2014–2024:
‘1. The number of incidents, complaints, or enforcement actions related to under-18 individuals creating accounts or gambling on licensed UK platforms (online or retail).
Any fines or penalties issued to operators for failing to implement adequate age verification controls.
The number of complaints received from parents or guardians regarding underage gambling.’
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 following information for the period 2014–2024:
‘1. The number of incidents, complaints, or enforcement actions related to under-18 individuals creating accounts or gambling on licensed UK platforms (online or retail).
Any fines or penalties issued to operators for failing to implement adequate age verification controls.
The number of complaints received from parents or guardians regarding underage gambling.’
Firstly, the Gambling Commission can assure that all licensees are required to have and put into effect policies and procedures designed to prevent underage gambling, and to monitor the effectiveness of those policies and procedures. One way of testing the effectiveness is by undertaking test purchase exercises using third parties to see if controls are working as intended. In order to be of assistance, please see the following for further information: Underage gambling participation and the effectiveness of land-based licensee age-verification controls.
The Gambling Commission are an industry regulator and not an ombudsman. Our role is to consider if a gambling business has breached their licence conditions, and we will take regulatory action where appropriate. Further information in relation to our regulatory actions can be found on our website here: Regulatory actions.
We use evidence from a range of places, including from gambling customers, licensed operators, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to build cases against gambling businesses. Information provided to us helps inform our work to raise gambling industry standards and make gambling fairer and safer.
We make a record of all complaints made against a gambling business. Where consumers share information with us that indicates a breach of our rules, that information will inform any regulatory action that we decide to take. However, the way in which we record information we receive changes over time in order to most effectively support our regulatory functions.
However, the Commission does not become involved in or “act upon” individual complaints, this means we do not have the powers to resolve individual gambling complaints or help consumers get their money back. Nevertheless, all information received helps to build a picture of the gambling industry and support our regulatory functions.
I can confirm that information falling within the scope of your request is held by the Gambling Commission. We can advise that prior to 2016, standard enquiries and consumer complaints were both categorised under ‘General Enquiry’ within our system. In order to identify whether we hold any information falling within the scope of your request we would need to review all of these ‘general enquiries’ to assess if they were relevant to your request. Therefore, we estimate that it would take in excess of 18 hours to determine appropriate material and retrieve and extract any relevant information in reference to your request.
Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for public authorities, such as the Commission, is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
When a public authority applies the Section 12 exemption to a request, the FOIA guidance specifically states that a public authority should avoid providing any information found as a result of a search as it denies the requestor the right to express a preference as to which parts of the request they may wish to receive within the appropriate time limit. Guidance on the application of section 12 can be viewed here:
If you are able to refine your request, for example a shorter date range, we may be able to narrow the number of records that we need to search.
Until we are able to process the search of the information you have requested, we are unable to ascertain if other exemptions will apply to any material identified which would also prevent disclosure. For example, S31 – Law Enforcement provides an exemption for information that the Commission holds where disclosure would reveal the methods and techniques the Commission uses as part of the assessment process. Disclosure of this information could seriously impact the Commission’s regulatory activities; this is strongly not in the public interest.
Please note, any refined request would be processed as a new request and the 20 working day statutory time limit would apply.
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.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission