Report
Consolidation of operator complaints and disputes data October 2019 – September 2020
The purpose of this report is to look at all operator complaints and disputes received by the Gambling Commission and analyse key issues, themes and trends
Contents
Gambling Commission, Regulatory Return Complaints
The number of complaints received by operators (as reported to the Gambling Commission via Regulatory Returns) has decreased by 22,337 to 132,862 during October 2019 to September 2020 compared to the previous 12 months (14.4% decrease).
Data from graph
| Type | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulatory Returns - Complaints | 164,091 | 155,199 | 132,862 |
| Regulatory Returns - Disputes Esc to ADR | 7842 | 9248 | 9887 |
The number of disputes being escalated to an ADR has slightly increased (9248 to 9887), with 23.4% of disputes being escalated during 2019-20, compared with 16.3% during the previous period. The larger percentage increase is due to less disputes being recorded. The Regulatory Return data does not currently specify what these complaints or disputes refer to.
There is a disparity between Regulatory Return disputes escalated to an ADR (9887) and the total disputes reported by the two main ADR providers, IBAS and eCOGRA (5617). Current operator guidance states ‘Record the number of disputes that you are aware have been referred to an ADR within the reporting period’. This may explain the higher number as not all consumers will necessarily continue with their dispute and contact an ADR.
When looking at the Regulatory Return sector split there is a large disparity between remote and non-remote operators. There is a larger number of complaints, disputes and disputes escalated to ADR from remote operators compared to non-remote. There are more non-remote (1174) operators, compared with remote (874), with 493 classified as both remote and non-remote.
Data from graph
| Year | All | Remote | Non-remote | Remote/Non-remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 164,091 | 136,583 | 26,916 | 592 |
| 2018-19 | 155,199 | 121,862 | 32,888 | 449 |
| 2019-20 | 132,862 | 109,099 | 22,953 | 810 |
The number of complaints received by remote operators has decreased in 2019-20. The number of disputes escalated to an ADR shows an opposite trend, increasing compared to the previous year.
Data from graph
| Year | All | Remote | Non-remote | Remote/Non-remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 7842 | 6752 | 1086 | 4 |
| 2018-19 | 9248 | 8494 | 754 | - |
| 2019-20 | 9887 | 9535 | 340 | 12 |
Gambling Commission, Contact Centre Complaints Next section
Resolver
Last updated: 20 October 2021
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