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Evidence roadmaps

The themes and roadmaps that form our evidence gaps and priorities.

Overview

We recognise that the landscape around gambling research in Britain is going through a period of change. The Government’s introduction of the Statutory Levy brings new approaches to the funding and commissioning of research and there will naturally need to be changes to the Gambling Commission’s own research programme now and in the future. This does inject some level of uncertainty into plans for future delivery of research. However, this does not prevent us from bringing greater clarity to the evidence gaps and priorities that exist.

We know that the evidence base for gambling is not fully developed, and given the scope of topics and speed of development in the sector, it is not realistic to expect it to be fully developed at any given time. That is why we have consulted a large range of stakeholders to help to identify those evidence gaps that are considered to be a priority.

Our evidence roadmaps

We have retained the 6 overarching themes from our previous evidence gaps and priorities publication which cover the full range of gaps and research questions that we need to be able to fill and answer within our regulatory scope.

Each theme contains evidence roadmaps which have been designed to:

  • set the direction of travel for future research to inform regulation
  • give greater visibility of the Commission’s priorities and progress
  • highlight areas where the wider evidence ecosystem can contribute and add value.

As you would expect, there is a focus on our role as regulator to keep gambling safe, fair and crime free. However, it is not only about the Commission and what we need to do. There are roadmaps highlighted by stakeholders where we agree that additional knowledge would help us to understand the wider gambling context and the market. We have been clear about gaps that the Commission is already planning to address – which may include the use of funding available as a result of the statutory levy – but we are also highlighting evidence gaps where other organisations may be best placed to take action.

We will continue to revisit and refresh our evidence gaps and roadmaps as we react to progress and emerging findings from our own research and the wider gambling research ecosystem.

Further information about each theme and roadmap can be found by selecting the following boxes:

Delivering good quality research

Whilst our 6 evidence themes cover a broad and diverse range of topics and issues, there are key principles that are inherent in the delivery of robust, good quality evidence across the wider ecosystem. These principles apply to the collection and development of evidence, and the communication and dissemination of the evidence base.

We are keen to conduct and encourage research that meets best practice recommendations, but – where possible - we do not want to be prescriptive about methodologies in a way that stifles innovative approaches and prevents researchers from utilising their expertise to determine the most appropriate way to carry out the research.

Evaluation

There is a collective need for a better understanding of the impact of interventions and programmes aiming to prevent or reduce harm, across all the themes and issues we have identified. We recognise however that there are challenges, not least in the complexity of the interventions that require evaluation and the contexts in which they occur.

There is also a need to be proportionate, and to consider how we can be pragmatic and realistic (both in terms of resource and time) in delivering good evaluations. However, an increase in the use of evaluative approaches to tackle some of the gaps we have identified will be pivotal in developing a richer and more informative evidence base.

The role of lived experience

An essential part of the evidence base is the direct input of people with lived experience of gambling and gambling harms. The Gambling Commission’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) provides us with advice and perspectives based on its members' own experiences of a wide range of gambling harms. Our Consumer Voice research programme ensures that the views of all gambling consumers are heard when developing our evidence base.

Governance and transparency

Strong research governance is vital in building a robust and impactful evidence base. As a body that commissions research it is important that we conduct work in a way that is authoritative and trusted, and we are committed to ensuring that our processes are in line with best practice.

It is also vital that high quality research and evidence is transparent about methodological and analytical approaches, provides full disclosure and discussion of limitations, and allows others to replicate the work themselves.

Accessibility

Good research and evidence needs to be accessible to all. We already make several of our research datasets available for wider use via the UK Data Archive, and will be continuing to upload raw data from our core research projects as and when this is available. We also ensure that all of our research outputs are accessible to all users and that everyone can access the same information regardless of barriers or ability.

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