Gambling Commission appoints Lived Experience Advisory Panel to advance work in player safety
03 February 2021
The Gambling Commission has today announced the establishment of a permanent Lived Experience Advisory Panel.
The panel will continue the work of the interim Experts by Experience group, which was formed last year by providing advice, evidence and recommendations to the Commission to inform decision-making and raise standards.
The panel’s first meeting took place this week and consists of people with a wide-range of lived experience of gambling harms, including people affected by someone else’s gambling, with the joint aim of collaborating to make gambling safer.
The Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) will be working with the Commission to advise on a wide range of policy development initiatives, including providing input to work to inform the Gambling Act Review.
Gambling Commission Chief Executive, Neil McArthur said: “The establishment of this group is a great step forward for us in our work in making gambling safer and building our understanding of harm and its impacts. As already proven by the input of the Interim Group, the views and perspectives of Lived Experience in our decision making is invaluable and is already having a positive impact in our work in addressing gambling related harm.
Lived Experience feedback in our policy work has already led to progress through input to consultations on game design and customer interaction and affordability and strengthened online advertising rules.”
Gambling Commission Chair, William Moyes said: “I welcome today’s announcement of the permanent Lived Experience Advisory Panel, which is a positive step towards better understanding harms caused by gambling. By collaborating with those with lived experience, friends, families and communities we can make faster progress to reduce gambling harms.”
A spokesperson on behalf of the Lived Experience Advisory Panel said: “We are pleased that the Gambling Commission has recognised the importance of listening to people who have been harmed by gambling and welcome their real commitment to ensuring that this can happen.
“The creation of this group creates a real opportunity for the voice of those with lived experience to support and influence the work of the Gambling Commission. We are a diverse group of people and bring a wide range skills and personal experience of gambling harm. We take this role seriously and look forward to working together as a group to make progress in tackling gambling harm.”
The Lived Experience Advisory Panel will join the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling and the Digital Advisory Panel as a formal group who advise the regulator.
The Commission is committed to ensuring that a wider range of consumer views are taken into account when making decisions. Although the group does not reflect all gamblers, their valuable input will add to other approaches currently used to include the views of consumers in decision making. This includes information and feedback received from the consumer contact centre, online consumer research panels and engagement and consultations on regulatory changes.
Note to editors
- More information about how we regulate the gambling industry.
- Useful statistics on the gambling industry.
- Journalists can contact our press office on 0121 230 6700 or email: communications@gamblingcommission.gov.uk
- The Lived Experience Advisory Panel provides expert independent advice to the Gambling Commission. Its advice is based on its members personal lived experience of gambling harms.
- In carrying out its regulatory work the Commission is constantly seeking to balance consumer choice and enjoyment against the risks gambling can create for some customers and for wider society.
For all media enquiries, please contact the Gambling Commission press office.
Last updated: 20 August 2021
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