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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 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. How GSGB is being used

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.

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GSGB Review and response to OSR report - Response to OSR’s assessment of the GSGB
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