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Find out more about official statistics and when we publish statistics and research.
Published: 5 May 2023
Last updated: 18 July 2024
This version was printed or saved on: 1 May 2025
Online version: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/guide/our-approach-to-statistics-and-research
Overview: As an evidence-based regulator we collaborate with local and international researchers and organisations to provide advice to the government about gambling behaviour in Great Britain.
We collect and analyse data to monitor changes that may have an impact on the regulatory framework and to make sure we are up-to-date with gambling industry statistics and gambling related research.
No scheduled releases.
4 February: National Lottery Distribution Fund (October to December 2024)
27 February: Gambling Survey for Great Britain (Official statistics – Year 2 (2024), wave 3)
No scheduled releases.
No scheduled releases.
13 May: National Lottery Distribution Fund (January to March 2025)
22 May: Gambling Survey for Great Britain (Official statistics – Year 2 (2024), wave 4)
No scheduled releases.
31 July: Licensing Authority Statistics 2024 to 2025
5 August: National Lottery Distribution Fund (April to June 2025)
September (date to be confirmed): Gambling Survey for Great Britain (Official statistics – Annual Report – Year 2 (2024))
October (date to be confirmed): Gambling Survey for Great Britain (Official statistics – Year 3 (2025), wave 1)
4 November: National Lottery Distribution Fund (July to September 2025)
November (date to be confirmed): Young People and Gambling Survey (2025)
December (date to be confirmed): Gambling Survey for Great Britain (Official statistics – Year 3 (2025), wave 2)
As part of the Code of Practice for Statistics we are committed to producing useful, easy to access, relevant data which supports the understanding of gambling behaviours.
By making our data available on the UK Data Service, we are meeting Value 2 (accessibility) of the Code of Practice for Statistics (opens in new tab).
By making our data more accessible, we hope others will be able to do their own analysis of the findings and we invite you to share any analysis with us.
Launched in 2023, the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) collects our official statistics on gambling behaviour in Great Britain. The GSGB is one of the largest surveys about people's gambling behaviours in the world, collecting data from 20,000 respondents each year.
The following data collections are available on the UK Data Service:
Since 2011 we have undertaken the Young People and Gambling Survey, a survey of 11 to 16 year olds across Great Britain which is completed by pupils in secondary state schools.
The survey is designed to understand young people’s attitudes towards gambling and their participation in different types of gambling activities. Data is collected on forms of gambling and gambling style games that children and young people can legally take part in along with gambling on age restricted products.
The following data collections are available on the UK Data Service:
Since 2015, Yonder have undertaken the Quarterly Telephone Survey, a gambling related survey of adults aged 16 years and older across Great Britain. The survey is designed to understand adult gambling participation levels, behaviour, and attitudes towards gambling.
The following data collections are available on the UK Data Service:
To access these data collections, visit UK Data Service (opens in new tab) and search ‘Gambling Commission’ in the data catalogue. The Data Collection is available to users registered with the UK Data Service.
To share your analysis get in contact with us.
The term official statistics covers several categories of statistics produced by public bodies, which are:
Where our data has the status of official statistic we make that clear so you can have confidence that the data has been gathered following common standards followed by all UK organisations that produce official statistics. We aim to ensure that the statistics we provide:
In relation to official statistics, pre-release access is strictly limited. In general, the following are allowed to have pre-release access:
More information about the status of statistics is on the UK Statistics Authority website (opens in new tab) and the Office for National Statistics website (opens in new tab).
In producing our Official Statistics for the Gambling Survey for Great Britain and the Young Persons Survey, the Commission uses research suppliers to help with survey collection and reporting. We have high standards, and our suppliers are required to adhere to thorough quality assurance checks, ahead of supplying data to us.
In addition to the research supplier’s quality checks on the dataset, the Commission also conduct their own quality assurance process. These checks include:
1. High-level checks - These checks run across the entire dataset and include the following:
2. Question checks - These checks look at the answers to specific questions in the survey and include:
3. Sense checks - This section focuses on whether the data makes sense in the context of its use, and include the following:
4. Final data checks - A final set of checks are undertaken during the analysis phase and ahead of publishing the Official Statistics. These include the following:
Sometimes it may be necessary to revise certain statistics when further information becomes available or data systems change. This may lead to previously released statistics being replaced by more complete or updated data.
Where this happens, statistics will be communicated in an orderly manner as soon as is practicable, in a transparent way.
The Gambling Commission will ensure to revise and re-issue the relevant publications, including the re-released date of the publication, and an explanation as to why the publication has been updated. The superseded version of the publication will also remain present on our website and will be clearly labelled as superseded.
Errors that occur within released statistics are often genuine mistakes. Unfortunately from time to time, despite our best efforts, mistakes can happen. In these instances, corrections are announced, made in a timely manner and explained clearly to users in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
The Code of Practice for Statistics requires all statistics producers to ensure users of the statistics are made aware of the scale, nature and cause of the error and its likely impact. This should be communicated in an orderly manner as soon as is practicable, in a transparent way.
The Gambling Commission will ensure that where errors and corrections have occurred, users will be made aware of the errors and their impact as soon as is reasonably practicable, alongside a clear reason as to why the errors have occurred.
The Gambling Commission will ensure to re-issue the relevant publications including the re-released date of the publication and an explanation as to why the publication has been re-issued. The superseded version of the publication will also remain present on our website and will be clearly labelled as superseded.
We publish official statistics, providing access to our statistics in a variety of formats to ensure they are accessible to all users, meeting Value 2 (accessibility) of the Code of Practice for Statistics (opens new tab).
We expect that anyone using our official statistics should present the data accurately and with integrity. This includes ensuring that the data is not taken out of context, manipulated, or presented in a way that could materially mislead others.
For the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) we have published guidance about how to use the statistics. This is important because the GSGB is a new source of official statistics from 2024. We have also published information about the quality, methods and strengths and limitations associated with the GSGB in a technical report.
If an individual or organisation is found to be using official statistics produced by the Gambling Commission inaccurately, the Commission may contact them and request that they correct the statistics. In severe cases or continued misuse of official statistics, we may refer the individual or organisation to the Office for Statistics Regulation (opens new tab). This information may be made public.
When considering if statistics have been used incorrectly, we recognise that the context in which they have been used is important. In deciding whether to request a correction, we take into account:
We publish all requests for corrections to our official statistics on a quarterly basis in our log of requested corrections.
We encourage all users of official statistics produced by the Gambling Commission to adhere to our guidance on how to use official statistics, ensuring that they are used responsibly and accurately. If you would like advice on how to use or communicate our official statistics please contact [communications@gamblingcommission.gov.uk] for support. If you wish to report any incidences of data misrepresentation, please email [statistics@gamblingcommission.gov.uk].
If you have a question or comment about any of the statistics or research we publish, you can get in contact with us using the following methods:
Use our online form to make a request online.
If you’d prefer to make your request verbally, you can contact us by phone.
Telephone: 0121 230 6666.
From outside the United Kingdom, use: +44 121 230 6666.