Case studies
North Devon Council supports Responsible Gambling Week
North Devon Council’s (opens in new tab) lead licensing officer, Howard Bee invited their local compliance manager Richard Nokes to accompany him on some joint premises visits during Responsible Gambling Week with a focus on responsible gambling and how to help safeguard vulnerable people. The staff at the betting shops visited had already been well briefed and had information about responsible gambling to hand out to customers.
Worcestershire Regulatory Services Local Area Profile
Intelligence Officer Peter Werner-de-Sondberg for Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), shares his experiences of producing the ‘local area profile’ (opens in new tab) to accompany the WRS statements of gambling policy.
Peter said “Profiles are widely used across the intelligence community as they provide a greater understanding of a particular issue within a specific area; and can encompass all aspects of regulation and enforcement. This makes producing them a positive and rewarding experience. Our local area profile intended to explore the prevalence of ‘at risk’ groups who, research has found, are at greater risk of gambling related harm.
It also aimed to identify geographical areas within the county that are, or are likely to be, higher risk.”
Challenges
The Geofutures research (exploring area-based vulnerability to gambling-related harm) (opens in new tab) had identified a number of potentially vulnerable groups but one of the most challenging aspects of this profile was identifying datasets that were current, relevant at a ‘local level’ and consistent (for example, available at ward level) in relation to those groups.
- Certain datasets were already held by WRS as they are relevant to other reports and assessments, including those relating to population, deprivation and crime.
- Other data was obtained through open source research such as the location of education establishments, job centres, and support groups for alcohol, drug and gambling dependency.
- In certain circumstances, particularly in relation to mental health, data could not be identified and it was recorded as a limitation to be addressed in future versions of the profile.
Findings and timescales
Once data had been collected and evaluated, analysis was undertaken, including a comparison with the gambling licences and registrations currently in force across Worcestershire. This led to a number of key findings, including the identification of seven areas where the level of risk was significantly increased due to;
- a greater concentration of gambling permissions, or
- a greater prevalence of at risk groups residing in, or visiting the area
From setting the objectives to publishing on our website, the four stages of the intelligence cycle (direction, collection, analysis and dissemination) were completed in three to four weeks. Whilst we accept there are certain areas which remain unexplored, it further demonstrates how the collection, evaluation and analysis of data and information can enhance understanding and inform decision makers.
Warrington Borough Council prevents illegal SSL on Facebook
Warrington Borough Council recently received an application for a small society lottery (SSL) running on Facebook, under the banner ‘Warrington Lottery’. The lottery application purported to be raising funds for local charities and had been made by two local individuals. It had been set up to raise monies via Facebook, seeking to obtain funds locally but stating no actual good cause therefore the Council refused the application as they were satisfied that it was a commercial entity and not for charitable causes. Licensing officers liaised with trading standards colleagues to investigate the individuals who also alleged that they had a similar venture in the Crewe area for which a registration had been granted. This information was in fact false. The Commission took steps to remove the Facebook page which was eventually withdrawn by the applicants.
LAs and police are encouraged to send case studies for inclusion in future bulletins. Please supply details to info@gamblingcommission.gov.uk.
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LA Bulletin November 2018 - Feature article: Lotteries promoted on social media
Last updated: 18 December 2023
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