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GSGB Review and response to OSR report

Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) Review and response to Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) report

Published: 24 July 2025

Last updated: 24 July 2025

This version was printed or saved on: 26 July 2025

Online version: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/report/gsgb-review-and-response-to-osr-report

Foreword

Changing any baseline for official statistics is challenging, it needs care and takes time to bed in as all stakeholders get familiar with the new data source, what the data means and how to use it. This was always going to be the case in a sector where the derivation and use of statistics has historically been a contentious space.

This paper reflects on the first year since the publication of the first annual report of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) in July 2024, and how the new statistics are delivering against our aims and expectations for the new dataset. It also responds to the Office for Statistics Regulation’s (OSR) assessment of GSGB and outlines plans for the ongoing development of the GSGB.

Since the GSGB was launched as our official statistics on gambling behaviours, we are pleased to note that the statistics have been widely cited and used by a variety of end users including researchers, policy makers, the media and politicians. We hope this will grow over time as more users become familiar with the dataset. We know some users lack confidence in the new methodology and where there have been examples where statistics from the GSGB have been used incorrectly, this report outlines how we are acting on this.

Further work on the GSGB has continued since the first annual report was published, we have published additional findings from the GSGB and the raw data has been published to the UK Data Service. We have also developed new questions to include on the GSGB and are actively engaging with the feedback from Professor Sturgis’s independent assessment of the GSGB and that of OSR.

I am incredibly grateful to the team who have worked so hard to respond to user queries, engage with those using the statistics, and are pushing the development forward and analysing the rich, timely dataset we now have.

Ben Haden

Director of Research and Statistics

Overview of GSGB

Following comprehensive development, the Gambling Commission launched the collection of the data for the new Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) in July 2023. The first annual report based on the first period of official statistics data collection (Year 1; July 2023 to February 2024) was published in July 2024.

The GSGB was developed to:

As a new source of official statistics, the Commission asked the OSR to undertake a review of the GSGB to assess its compliance against the Code of Practice for Statistics, to build trust amongst our users and to help inform the continued development of the survey. In May 2025, the OSR published their review of the GSGB (opens in new tab), and came to the following conclusion:

The Gambling Commission has undertaken a huge amount of work in developing and delivering the GSGB, and we commend the efforts and commitment of the team. In commissioning Professor Patrick Sturgis as an independent expert to review the GSGB methodology, the Gambling Commission has gained a valuable external perspective that identifies key areas of focus for the next phase of the survey development.

However, significantly more work is needed to address the recommendations made by Professor Sturgis, and to better support the appropriate use of these statistics by better understanding, and more effectively communicating, the uncertainty of the GSGB estimates.

This report sets out not only our response to the OSR assessment but also describes work already completed in line with the recommendations and reflects more generally on how the GSGB is being used. We developed the GSGB to provide us with a timely, robust dataset on gambling behaviours in Great Britain, which would allow us to track trends over time but it is important to understand how the data is being used and applied by others within the gambling sector, and whether it is meeting the needs of our users. We have drawn on web usage statistics, examples of how GSGB is being used and a variety of user engagement and stakeholder feedback that we have received since the launch of the GSGB, including from OSR.

How GSGB is being used

One of the aims for GSGB was to provide a more regular and timely source of robust data, with data available in a number of different formats for users to access.

Informed by user research, we developed a specific area on our website to host everything about the GSGB, including the development of the survey, statistical releases and technical information. According to web usage statistics, a total of 5,271 users visited the GSGB pages on the Gambling Commission website between February 2024 and March 2025, of which 1,511 were new users to the website. Whilst the majority of users are based in the UK, we are also pleased to see international interest in our data. Table 1 shows the number of users accessing GSGB pages on our website from other countries.

Table 1: Web site usage statistics by country (Top 5 countries by usage)

Table 1: Web site usage statistics by country (Top 5 countries by usage)
Country Total Users New Users
United Kingdom 3,804 1,043
Ireland 100 30
United States 94 43
Canada 72 32
Germany 62 27

Alongside the publication of the first annual GSGB report we published a series of data tables and an accompanying PowerBi dashboard for those users who wanted to be able to interrogate the data further – as well as hosting a webinar which around 200 people joined. Since then we have worked hard to publish additional findings from the survey. For example we published a series of supplementary tables which provide a breakdown of Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) categories by the number of activities someone participates in and by the Index of Multiple Deprivation. This was based on feedback from users about additional data they would like to be able to access. These tables will be incorporated within our core data tables for the second annual GSGB report which will be published in October 2025.

Given the wealth of data within GSGB and the ability to do more granular analysis because of the large sample size, we also published 2 additional deep dive reports, written by the University of Glasgow. The first looked at the relationship between reasons for gambling and different gambling activities (published 30 January 2025) and the second explored the relationship between gambling activities and Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores (published 6 February 2025)

Our aim was always to be open and transparent with GSGB data, so stakeholders could analyse the data for their own research. For this reason, the raw data from the GSGB was submitted to the UK Data Service and was published on 19 February 2025. In the first month following publication to the repository, the data was downloaded nearly 50 times. We are pleased that a number of externally published studies and reports have already been able to make use of the GSGB data, and we hope this will grow over time. Examples of reports which have included GSGB data include:

GSGB data has also played an important role in contributing to policy developments relating to gambling. Examples include:

Having reviewed how the GSGB is being used, we noted that some speakers in the parliamentary debate used the GSGB statistics incorrectly by grossing the problem gambling score to population level and used an inaccurate description of PGSI 8 and over scores. In the interests of making sure our official statistics are used correctly, we have written to these MPs and speakers and published this information in our log of requested corrections.

We encourage users to get in touch with us about the GSGB, whether that is to ask for guidance on how best to present data from the GSGB, to report inaccurate use of GSGB data or to share their research with us. Based on feedback from OSR, we have set up a dedicated email address to receive queries in relation to GSGB (statistics@gamblingcommission.gov.uk). We have also provided the opportunity for users to give us ongoing feedback via a feedback form and to join our GSGB statistics users group which will meet a couple of times a year.

Response to OSR’s assessment of the GSGB

As a new official statistic we asked the OSR to undertake an assessment of GSGB, to assess the GSGB statistics against the Code of Practice for Statistics and to help inform the continued development of the GSGB. We have been in regular contact with the OSR since the start of the review and as such have been able to make improvements along the way based on the feedback they gave us. This means that in our response to their report, we can already refer to several enhancements that have been put in place.

We are really pleased that the OSR recognised in their review the amount of work that has gone into the development of the GSGB and that we have some clear recommendations which will help us to continue to develop our new official statistics and further strengthen our adherence to the Code of Practice. The OSR also published a public statement (opens in new tab) in response to specific concerns that had been raised by some individuals in relation to GSGB, which we think has brought further clarity.

In this section we respond to the recommendations in the OSR report, setting out the progress we have already made and the actions we intend to take.

Actions in response to Professor Sturgis review

The OSR recommends that to improve user confidence in the GSGB, the Gambling Commission should develop a more detailed and comprehensive improvement plan to communicate how Professor Sturgis’ recommendations will be actioned (Recommendation 1).

In February 2024, Professor Sturgis published his independent assessment of the GSGB. The independent review (opens in new tab) assessed the GSGB’s methodological approach and made recommendations for improvements focusing on how the Commission should address unresolved issues relating to how the shift to self-completion has affected estimates of gambling behaviours.

Since the OSR review was carried out an independent team at the National Centre for Social Research and Professor Sturgis and Professor Kuha at the London School of Economics have been commissioned, following an open procurement, to undertake experimental research to implement the recommendations. We updated the survey improvement plan on our website in April 2025 with this information. We also held a webinar on 8 April to launch the project, with around 100 stakeholders in attendance. We shared a timeline at the webinar, with results from the experimental research due to be published in Summer 2025. The second annual GSGB report (based on data collected in 2024) will now be published on 2 October 2025, so that we can take on board the feedback from the experimental research in the annual report.

We have also updated the survey improvement plan with regards to Recommendation 7 from Professor Sturgis’s report, to explain that we will be able to benchmark results from the GSGB against the 2024 Health Survey for England when that is published at the end of the year and against the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) published in June 2025.

We will continue to add more detail to the survey improvement plan as we implement the recommendations from Professor Sturgis’s report.

Quality Assurance

The OSR recommends that the Gambling Commission should provide more detailed information on its quality assurance and validation processes to assure users and enhance confidence in the GSGB data.

GSGB data is subject to a series of steps in terms of quality assurance. Following data collection, GSGB data first undergoes quality assurance by the National Centre for Social Research. The data is then passed to the Commission, who undertake further quality assurance steps. The National Centre for Social Research’s approach to quality assurance is detailed within the technical report, this contains information on how the National Centre for Social Research deal with duplicate records, survey speeders and full details of the weighting that is applied. Information on the quality assurance the Commission carry out is also available on our website. The Commission will review the technical report ahead of the publication of the 2024 GSGB Annual Report, bringing this information into one place and providing further details where applicable.

In Summer 2025 the Commission will also publish a new research governance framework which will underpin quality assurance and research quality. When we have completed the work to implement both the recommendations from Professor Sturgis and the recommendations from OSR, we will review the benefits and timing of securing accredited official statistics status for the GSGB with the OSR.

With regards to validation, the objective of the GSGB pilot was to validate the pilot findings against the previous Health Survey for England (HSE) and the Commission’s quarterly telephone survey to help understand the impact of the methodology change and to inform our decision about whether to move to the experimental stage or not. The pilot report can be found in our Participation and Prevalence: Pilot methodology review.

In the GSGB Annual Report (2023) the Commission published data for the first time in relation to suicidal ideation or attempts and whether this was related to their gambling. Given this was the first time we had published data like this, it was important for us to validate them against another source. In the annual report we refer to the estimates being higher than those collected by the APMS 2014 and explain to users why there are likely to be differences in the findings. There will be another opportunity to validate the GSGB against the next set of APMS data published June 2025.

As highlighted by OSR, the Commission has also worked with the Bingo Association to design a question in the GSGB to understand where people play Bingo to help us validate GSGB data against Bingo Association industry data. The question was added to the GSGB in Wave 1, 2025 and data for this wave will be published in October 2025. For validation purposes, we also added another question to the GSGB in Wave 1, 2025 to ask if respondents have registered themselves with GamStop, the national self-exclusion scheme. The results from the question in GSGB will be validated against data on the number of people contacting the helpline.

We will update the GSGB technical report to include a section on data validation by October 2025.

Supporting appropriate use

To support appropriate interpretation and use of the GSGB data, the OSR recommends that the Gambling Commission should:

clearly communicate to users within the statistical releases the potential biases that may affect the GSGB estimates, the possible impact of these and Professor Sturgis’ conclusion regarding the risk that the statistics potentially overestimate some gambling behaviours.

Explain what the statistics can and can’t be used for, and why.

Ensure that the guidance on how to use the statistics is easy to find and tailored to different users, such as the media.

Guidance on using statistics from the GSGB was published alongside the first annual report. This guidance was published because the statistics from the GSGB were new and collected using a different survey methodology and we wanted to help anyone who wishes to use data from the GSGB to ensure it is reported correctly.

While in many cases the data from the GSGB has been used accurately by researchers, media outlets and other stakeholders, we have monitored data use (according to Principle T2.5 of the Code of Practice for Statistics (opens in new tab)) and noticed some common mistakes. In some instances, advice was given to the authors on the correct use of statistics, while in other cases corrections were requested. In the interest of being open and transparent, the full log of these requests can be found on our Using our official statistics page together with information on what we consider when we make a decision whether to request corrections. This was published for the first time in Apil 2025 and will be updated quarterly. In addition, since publishing the GSGB annual report in July 2024, the Commission has received a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests about how GSGB data is being used and the corrections we have requested. The outcomes of these FOI requests are publicly available and can be viewed on our full register of Freedom of Information Requests.

The OSR assessment noted mixed feedback in relation to the published guidance. Whilst some users found the guidance to be clear, other users felt that the documentation lacked clarity and that the number of caveats undermined their confidence in the data. Based on earlier feedback we received from the OSR, we updated the GSGB guidance in February 2025 to include more examples of how the statistics can and can’t be used and why. We also provided a dedicated email address statistics@gamblingcommission.gov.uk if users want to get in touch with us about how to use and communicate our statistics, or if they want to report incidences of data misrepresentation to us. Given the number of reports of misrepresentation to us by some stakeholders, we also published some clearer information on the criteria we use when considering if our official statistics have been used incorrectly.

To make it easier for users to find the guidance about using the GSGB statistics, we will add links to the guidance from our statistical landing pages and also from the excel data tables. We did this for the GSGB Year 2 (2024) Wave 4 data published on 22 May 2025 and will do this as standard going forward now.

Following the completion of the experimental research outlined in Recommendation 1, the project team at the National Centre for Social Research and the London School of Economics will review the guidance again and will update as required. Any proposed changes to the guidance will be shared with the GSGB Statistics User group.

Within our statistical releases we will also make it clearer to users that the GSGB produces estimates and these estimates are subject to potential biases. We will set out the impact of these potential biases, including the risk that some of the estimates about the negative consequences of gambling may be over estimated. We have delayed the publication of the GSGB Annual Report 2024 to allow time for the experimental research actioning Professor Sturgis’s recommendations to be completed, so we can be clearer about the impact of these potential biases.

Coherence and comparability

The OSR recommends to support user understanding of the GSGB’s role in the broader gambling data landscape, the Gambling Commission should do more to investigate the coherence and comparability of GSGB statistics with other relevant data, such as from the Health Survey for England and the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey that will be published later in 2025, and communicate these findings to users. 

The guidance we published alongside the GSGB contains a section on comparability with previous surveys. Whilst we have advised against making direct comparisons between the GSGB and previous survey results due to significant methodological differences we understand that some limited comparisons are useful to assess differences between study methodologies. We included a table in our guidance which compares the collection mode, questionnaire content, age coverage, sample size, response rate and geographic coverage of GSGB compared to the Health Survey for England and the Commission’s previous telephone survey. We also updated our guidance in February to include an example of how users could refer to previous estimates without making a direct comparison, the wording we suggested is “The Gambling Survey for Great Britain estimates that 2.5 percent of adults have a PGSI score of 8 or more. This is higher than estimates produced by other studies which use different methodologies.”

The publication of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) in June 2025 and the 2024 Health Survey for England at the end of 2025 will provide further opportunities to investigate the coherence and comparability of GSGB Statistics with other relevant data, as will the experimental research currently being undertaken to implement the recommendations from Professor Sturgis’s report. We have also closely followed the work by ESRI in Ireland and the paper they published on measures of problem gambling, gambling behaviours and perceptions of gambling in Ireland (opens in new tab) and the work published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency on the prevalence of gambling in Northern Ireland 2024 (opens in new tab) which both show a similar PGSI 8 or more score to the GSGB. The study undertaken by ESRI in Ireland uses an online methodology, but the study undertaken in Northern Ireland uses a face to face approach. The PGSI 8 or more score in each of these studies is 3.3 percent and 3.0 percent respectively. On an international basis, we are interested in the findings of a mixed mode population survey undertaken in Germany. A change in methodology from a telephone survey to a mixed online and telephone approach, also saw an increase in the percentage of the population in Germany identified as having a gambling disorder to 2.4 percent, as measured by the DSM-5.

At the Commission’s spring conference in March 2025, which over 200 stakeholders attended, we delivered a presentation on the triangulation of data from different sources to help understand the gambling landscape. This included data from the GSGB, open banking data and an industry pilot data set demonstrating how we integrate data from different sources to build the bigger picture.

The OSR assessment referred to a broader piece of work we are undertaking to identify and address evidence gaps and priorities in the gambling sector and encouraged publication of these findings. Our new evidence roadmaps framework is scheduled to be published in September 2025 together with our research governance framework.

Engagement and communication

The OSR’s fifth recommendation outlines that to ensure that user needs are sought, documented and considered, the Gambling Commission should create and implement a GSGB user engagement strategy. This strategy should detail specific activities and how users will be involved at various stages of the survey’s future developments. 

We carried out a range of user engagement to develop the GSGB, including a formal consultation, establishing 3 stakeholder engagement groups, hosting webinars, workshops and presenting at the Commission’s evidence conferences to gather user opinions and feedback. Now that the GSGB has moved to the official statistics phase, we have transitioned our stakeholder engagement groups into the GSGB Statistics User Group. We have already started to promote the user group to stakeholders and for those interested in joining a link is available on our website.

The GSGB Statistics User Group has been created to enhance communication and engagement with users of the GSGB. It aims to:

We will use the first meeting of the user group to understand topics of interest for our users, so we can plan future activities.

We have also published a user engagement statement, which is relevant to all of our official statistics including the GSGB.

Under the same theme of user engagement, the OSR also recommends the Gambling Commission should remain open to receiving challenge, provide feedback to users on their contributions and clearly communicate what can and cannot be addressed in the development of the GSGB statistics. 

As mentioned in Recommendation 5, we are establishing a GSGB statistics user group to provide a forum for the exchange of views, ideas and information between users of the GSGB data and the Gambling Commission.

We have also developed a GSGB feedback form for users to provide ongoing feedback on the GSGB. This could include feedback on the technical report, our statistical outputs, the guidance or the data that is available through our Power Bi dashboard. We will regularly review this and feedback to users via the user group meetings on the ideas that have been suggested and what we can and cannot address via GSGB.

Based on OSR feedback, we also established a dedicated email address statistics@gamblingcommission.gov.uk for the GSGB which users can use to contact us about the survey, advice on how to present the statistics or to report any incidences of misuse of GSGB data. In relation to this last point, we now also publish on a quarterly basis our log of requested corrections to our official statistics. One of the reasons for publishing this information is to help users understand how our statistics can and can’t be used.

With regards to stakeholder engagement the OSR also recommends the Gambling Commission should broaden its stakeholder network and collaborate further with official statistics producers. 

The Commission has a broad range of stakeholders including industry, central and local government, academics, third sector, public health, regulators and we carry out a wide range of engagement. We host an annual spring conference which around 200 stakeholders attend from a range of backgrounds, we regularly meet with industry representatives, government departments and other regulators and we have an international programme of collaboration with gambling regulators in other jurisdictions.

Our Research and Statistics team attend quarterly meetings with other official statistics producers, organised by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to share best practice and during the development of GSGB we reached out to other official statistics producers who had also introduced similar changes in survey methodologies to learn from their experiences. We also have established links with the research teams at Ofcom and the Money and Pensions Service who we meet with regularly.

On a quarterly basis we meet with representatives from the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland to share our research. Whilst we don’t have a regular meeting established to talk about our research with representatives from the Welsh government, we have spoken to them about the changes they are introducing to the National Survey for Wales and shared our experience about changing the methodology for a population based survey. For the GSGB Annual Report 2023, we added colleagues in Scottish and Welsh government to our pre-release access list for the GSGB annual report following feedback that they would like to be included.  

We will continue to broaden our stakeholder network in relation to GSGB, taking opportunities to present findings from the research at relevant conferences and meetings, developing our GSGB hub on our website and encouraging stakeholders to join our GSGB Statistics User Group.  

With regards to communication, the OSR recommended to improve the effectiveness of its communication, the Gambling Commission should publish a communication strategy detailing how it will approach sharing GSGB updates with users and stakeholders, taking user preferences into account where possible. 

The Communications plan for GSGB leading up to the launch of the annual report in July 2024 included the following:

Our communications strategy for the ongoing publication of statistics from GSGB and related updates aims to:

We will continue to use a variety of communication methods including webinars, podcasts, the Commission’s e-bulletin newsletter (fortnightly) and our annual spring conference to share information with users about the GSGB. The GSGB statistics user group will also form a key part of our user engagement and communications strategies.  

Accessibility and usability

The OSR recommended to enhance the usability and accessibility of GSGB outputs, the Gambling Commission should consider how it can align further development of these statistics, including the detail that is provided and how it is presented, with user needs. 

In line with principles T3 (Orderly release) (opens in new tab), T6 (Data Governance) (opens in new tab), V1(Relevance to Users) (opens in new tab), V2 (Accessibility) (opens in new tab) and V3 (Clarity and Insight) (opens in new tab), GSGB data is presented on our website in different formats including an interactive PowerBi dashboard.

We will continue to publish data from the GSGB in a variety of formats including reports, data tables and in Power Bi. We have also published the data to the UK Data Service, so it is accessible to other researchers to analyse. In the first month of being available, the dataset was downloaded nearly 50 times.   We will also investigate adding a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) as an identifier to our reports to enable permanent and reliable accessibility even if their location (URL) changes

Following OSR’s recommendation, we will incorporate hyperlinks from the contents page in our published data tables to the relevant table of data, this will be implemented from October 2025.  

In terms of developing the Power Bi dashboard and adding more content to it as suggested by some of our stakeholders, we will do this as part of the publication of the Year 2 GSGB data, due for publication on the 2 October 2025. We intend to ask our statistics user group for feedback in relation to the development of the Power Bi dashboard, asking them for ideas around the additional content they would like to see.  

Other post-launch GSGB development work

We are committed to principle V4 (Innovation and Improvement) (opens in new tab) as well as V1 (Relevance to Users) (opens in new tab) and as well as Q3 (Assured quality) (opens in new tab) of the Code of Practice for Statistics. Development work has already taken place since the launch of the GSGB and the publication of the first annual report in 2024.

In reviewing the content for the 2025 (Year 3) GSGB questionnaire, we have added some additional questions.

We have included a new question relating to consumer trust in gambling. The question was developed within the Consumer Voice programme and added as a regular question on the GSGB from Wave 1, 2025. Findings will be published as impact metrics each year.
We have added a new question relating to unlicenced gambling which has been developed within the Consumer Voice programme and will be added to the GSGB from Wave 2, 2025.

We have expanded our question set relating to playing Bingo, to understand the locations in which Bingo is played in person. This question was developed through stakeholder engagement with the Bingo Association to help validate the GSGB findings against industry data and will help us to determine the types of Bingo people are taking part in.

We have added a question about whether respondents have registered with GamStop, this question is for validation purposes to validate the survey responses against GamStop data.

If you would like to provide feedback on the GSGB or this report, please complete our GSGB feedback form. You can also join our GSGB statistics user group.

Response to OSR recommendations action plan

Response to OSR recommendations action plan
Recommendation
number		 Action Timescale Completed
1 Update survey improvements page on GSGB hub with information about commissioning of experimental research April 2025 Yes
1 Host webinar to launch experimental research implementing recommendations 1-3 from Professor Sturgis report April 2025 Yes
1 Publish report from experimental research August 2025 No
1 Keep survey improvements page updated with latest developments Ongoing Not applicable
2 Provide more information on quality assurance within GSGB technical report, bringing together National Centre for Social Research and GC processes together in same place. October 2025 No
2 Publish research governance framework July 2025 No
2 Publish information on how the GSGB data is validated against other data sources within technical report October 2025 No
3 Add statement to each statistical release that there is a risk that the findings over estimate gambling harm October 2025 No
3 Add links to the guidance on how to use GSGB data from GSGB statistical landing pages and the technical report to aid users October 2025 No
3 Tailor outputs to different users, consider providing notes to editors alongside releases where appropriate October 2025 No
3 Use GSGB statistics user group to get feedback on what other information they would find useful in terms of what the statistics can and can't be used for July 2025 No
3 Update GSGB technical report bringing together the two sections around why the survey may under report (people with lived experience may not respond) and why it may over report (gambling focused) into the same section October 2025 No
3 Update guidance if necessary following experimental research based on Professor Sturgis’s recommendations and share with statistics user group October 2025 No
4 Following completion of experimental research to implement Recommendations 1-3 from Professor Sturgis’s report, update materials relating to consistency and comparability of GSGB with other related statistics October 2025 No
4 Publish a blog or relevant communication demonstrating how GSGB data fits within the broader gambling data landscape and how data is integrated with other sources December 2025 No
4 Benchmark GSGB data against 2024 Health Survey for England (discussing the findings from the two surveys and potential reasons for any differences) March 2026 No
4 Benchmark GSGB data against APMS December 2025 No
4 Demonstrate how GSGB links to evidence roadmaps September 2025 No
5 Create and publish user engagement strategy outlining how we will interact with users and understand their needs July 2025 Yes
5 Incorporate user views to enable the survey to remain relevant over time Ongoing Not applicable
6 Provide feedback to users on which of their contributions can and can't be addressed through GSGB Ongoing through user group Not applicable
6 Provide a channel for users to feedback to the GC about GSGB June 2025 Yes
7 Review stakeholder engagement network and broaden it where possible Ongoing Not applicable
7 Continue to build on partnerships with other official statistics producers Ongoing Not applicable
8 Develop and implement GSGB communications strategy July 2025 Yes
8 Make sure users are informed of any updates to the GSGB pages in a frequent, timely and transparent way (use e-bulletin and email GSGB statistics user group with updates) Ongoing Not applicable
9 Get feedback from users on the content from GSGB they would like to see published and how they would like to access data July 2025 No
9 Expand Power Bi dashboard (more granular data, ability to cross tab more data and understand data at smaller geographical areas) October 2025 No
9 Incorporate hyperlinks from Excel contents page to tables in data tables October 2025 No
9 Investigate adding DOI for publications to allow us to track how GSGB is being used and/or published October 2025 No

Communications plan

Background

The Gambling Commission seeks to be the authoritative, trusted and impartial voice on gambling behaviours, using an evidence-based approach.

The Commission’s strategic focus for 2024 to 2027 includes using data and analytics to make gambling regulation more effective - better evidence will lead to better regulation, which in turn will lead to better outcomes for consumers, the public and licensees. Our Evidence Gaps and Priorities work enables the Commission to fulfil the commitment to better understand the gambling market, behaviour and gambling-related harm.

The Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) is one of our core data sets for understanding gambling behaviours. The GSGB provides robust and wide-ranging information on gambling behaviours, attitudes towards gambling, information about the consequences of gambling and estimates of Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores amongst the adult population.

As part of our Evidence Gaps and Priorities programme, GSGB will be used alongside other data sets to provide the most current and comprehensive picture of gambling in Great Britain.

Objectives

This communications plan seeks to:

Audiences

These are the key groups we will communicate with about GSGB. Communication will reach the target audiences through direct contact, networks, third parties and across various channels:

Key Messages

GSGB provides the official statistics on gambling in Great Britain.

GSGB is the largest survey of its kind in the world. It helps us to understand people’s attitudes and gambling behaviours across Great Britain.

GSGB gives us frequent, reliable data to track changes over time.

GSGB consistently collects data from around 20,000 adults across Great Britain each year, allowing us to spot trends in how gambling behaviours change over time and what’s happening among different groups of people.

GSGB sets a new standard and helps build the complete picture.

GSGB creates a new baseline for understanding gambling in Great Britain using proven and peer-reviewed methods to show the bigger picture.

GSGB uses an independently recognized robust methodology and we are transparent about the strengths and limitations.

GSGB uses an independently recognized methodology and we provide clear guidance on how to use the statistics correctly.

Channels

Owned:

Earned:

Evaluation

The Gambling Commission takes evaluation incredibly seriously. Evaluation of our communications programme is key to knowing if we are achieving our outcomes and where we are having the planned impact.

We will monitor and measure the success of our communications programme to assess our impact and ensure we are meeting our objectives. Our approach focuses on indicators aligned to the 3 main objectives to gain meaningful insights while remaining flexible enough to adapt to emerging needs.