Our approach

Our review has set out to:

• provide our high-level views on the compliance of GSGB statistics with the Code of Practice for Statistics to support the Gambling Commission to further develop them
• highlight areas of good practice
• identify recommendations for areas where improvements to the statistics can be made

We will not duplicate any findings or recommendations already set out in the published independent review, ‘Assessment of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB)’, conducted by Professor Patrick Sturgis. As such, our review placed reliance on the Professor Sturgis review’s examination of the survey methodology.

To develop these views, we have:

• conducted desk research
• gathered a range of user views from industry representatives, public health professionals, private researchers, academics, third-sector workers and public sector employees
• reviewed all materials published as part of the official statistics releases, including the statistical bulletins, development and technical reports

This type of compliance review is typically a relatively quick, high-level, investigation into the compliance of a set of statistics with the Code of Practice for Statistics. In this case, the review has taken place over a number of months and interim findings have been shared with the Gambling Commission along the way. Because of this approach, the Gambling Commission has already started to take action to address some of our findings and recommendations. Where appropriate we acknowledge this within this review, but it is important to note that our findings are based on evidence that was available to us at an earlier point in time. We welcome these further developments to the GSGB; it is positive that the Gambling Commission has taken a proactive approach to address our recommendations and we encourage the Commission to publicly set out the progress it has made.

The Gambling Commission has engaged positively with our review process and we thank its staff for their cooperation.