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Photo of Gambling Commission Senior Manager for Market and Regulatory Insight Jennifer Barnfield-Tubb, alongside text of the blog title ; 'What's on the horizon?'

What’s on the horizon?

Our Senior Manager for Market and Regulatory Insight Jennifer Barnfield-Tubb provides an overview of horizon scanning at the Gambling Commission.

Posted 9 October 2025 by Jennifer Barnfield-Tubb

About horizon scanning

Horizon scanning is a way that companies can stay ahead of the curve on a variety of issues by spotting up-and-coming trends, that may have the potential to impact them. Some of these trends can be very specific to a particular industry or sector, whilst others, such as legislation, economic factors or societal trends, may have the potential to impact more widely. Ultimately, horizon scanning allows us to anticipate change, and make informed decisions based on our insight.

At the Commission, we conduct horizon scanning to ensure that we understand the latest emerging trends, and review their possible impact on gambling consumers, the wider public, and the gambling industry.

Our horizon scanning approach

We review information from a range of internal and external sources to ensure we have the fullest picture; these sources include content from working groups, media updates, conferences, operator data and engagement with industry experts.

In addition to actively monitoring market developments, we are also interested in any wider global or societal trends, such as shifts in consumer behaviour, new and emerging technologies, and entertainment habits, that may also impact the gambling landscape in Great Britain.

We also review and reflect on any learnings that we can derive from gambling developments and trends seen in other jurisdictions.

Once we have all the information, we analyse the content and look for any patterns and emerging trends. We then have a closer look at each identified trend and consider the potential impact that it could have on the gambling industry in Great Britain. This part of the process includes weighing up the likelihood of each trend occurring, identifying any implications, and then considering any appropriate steps that we may need to take.

How does horizon scanning fit into the wider evidence work of the Commission?

Alongside the horizon scanning information that the team gather, additional content from other useful data sources such as our regulatory returns data and the data collected as part of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) also help inform our thinking. This ensures that we have the most comprehensive view on a particular theme, by using the fullest range of information that we have access too.

Here are some examples of the other insight sources we use in conjunction with our horizon scanning approach:

  • the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) is the biggest survey of its kind, exploring gambling behaviours across Great Britain. It provides important granular data we’ve not had before
  • our Consumer Voice research has helped create a richer picture of gambling in Great Britain. One of the latest projects looks at unlicenced gambling
  • access to open banking data has helped us understand consumer spending habits in relation to gambling and other sectors, by looking at their banking transactions
  • the Market impact data feeds into our understanding about the number of customers engaging in gambling, the level and patterns of stakes, the number of bets placed and how these have changed over time
  • still in its pilot phase, the Regular Feed of Operator Core Data (ROCD) project will establish a process for the Commission to collect data from operators on customer gambling behaviour
  • regulatory returns submitted by operators, feed into the Commission’s Industry Statistics publication which measures Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) and a wide range of other data points from within the industry.

Examples of themes identified through the horizon scanning process

By combining our horizon scanning approach with other evidence sources, we have been able to identify trends and use a risk-based approach to prioritise them.

Some of the themes that we have explored include:

  • Internationalisation – a focus on emerging markets and the diversification of operator portfolios in other regions
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) – the current and future uses of AI within the gambling industry
  • Mergers & acquisitions – a look at the drivers of mergers and acquisitions within the gambling industry, and the changes that have been seen.

What’s on your horizon?

We are interested in the widest range of views and insights from our stakeholders. If you have any thoughts on potential up-and-coming themes that the industry is likely to face in the medium to long term, we’d love to hear them (opens in new tab), so that we can incorporate them into our thinking.

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