Standards

Research governance framework 

The Gambling Commission's Research Governance Framework.

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Published
30 April 2026

Last updated
30 April 2026 - Changes

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Contents

• Research governance framework 

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• Introduction
• • Research at the Gambling Commission
  • The Research Governance Framework
  • Developing and updating the research governance framework
• Ethical gambling research
• • Introduction to ethical gambling research
  • Core research principles and guidelines for ethical gambling research
  • Research involving AI
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Research misconduct
• Ethical approval for gambling research with human participants
• • Which projects require ethical approval
  • General considerations for ethical approval in gambling research
  • The ethical approval process
• The peer review process
• Roles and responsibilities
• Other external research involvement
• Research data governance
• • General principles of research data governance and research data safeguarding
  • What documents are required?
  • Data sharing
• Dissemination of research
• Monitoring, review and data corrections
• Appendices
• • Appendix 1: Ethics Checklist for projects requiring full Ethical Approval
  • Appendix 2: Data management plan checklist checklist
  • Appendix 3: Peer review checklist
  • Appendix 4: Research misconduct

1.1 - Research at the Gambling Commission

As an evidence-based regulator we collaborate with local and international researchers and organisations and have a duty to provide advice to the government about gambling behaviour in Great Britain, the manner in which gambling is carried out, the effects of gambling and the regulation of gambling and the National Lottery (opens in new tab).

We collect and analyse data to monitor changes that may have an impact on the regulatory framework and publish gambling industry statistics and gambling related research.

Research carried out and commissioned by the Gambling Commission seeks to aid the Gambling Commission’s legal obligation to:

• protect children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling
• ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way 
• prevent gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime and disorder or being used to support crime.

Research also seeks to aid our National Lottery Statutory Duties which are:

• ensuring the National Lottery is run with due propriety
• ensuring that the interests of all participants are protected
• ensuring that returns to good causes are maximised.

Our Corporate Strategy 2024 to 2027 has identified the use of data and analytics to make gambling regulation more effective as a key area of strategic focus. This is especially important in an environment where rapid technological advances mean that licensees can offer increasingly complex and sophisticated gambling products and services to consumers.

We are committed to carrying out a rolling programme of research to significantly increase our understanding of the gambling market and consumer behaviour. Better evidence will lead to better regulation and as such to better outcomes for consumers, the public and licensees. We have established our priority research areas to ensure that our research is pertinent and impactful and addresses important gambling research questions. Through our research, we aim to build a robust regulatory evidence base in line with our licensing objectives. We have produced this research governance framework to explain and outline our approach to research which will continue to guide us in producing high quality research safeguards that the public trust, as well as protecting research participants.

Next section
The Research Governance Framework

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Last updated: 30 April 2026

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