The Gambling Commission, in collaboration with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), is working alongside the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to conduct an evaluation of a subset of policies as part of the Gambling Act Review (GAR).
The goal is to strengthen the evidence base surrounding gambling regulation and to support its strategic commitment to improving regulatory impact evaluation.
This evaluation will not provide the Gambling Commission with a definitive position on the overall Gambling Act Review.
The Commission emphasises that further monitoring and evaluation must continue beyond the scope of this project.
The latest update follows the publication of the evaluation plan in December 2024 and a previous progress update released in May 2025.
Policies in this phase of evaluation include online slot stake limits, financial vulnerability checks and changes to direct marketing, among others.
The evaluation employs a mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative research.
On the qualitative side, activities completed to date include in-depth interviews with gamblers, focus groups, diary studies with young people who gamble and contribution claims workshops with stakeholders to understand the emerging evidence.
Quantitative activities have included a consumer survey with gamblers, an operator survey with semi-structured follow-up interviews and collaborative work with several operators to share data for quantitative analysis.
This month, the evaluation will enter the final stage of evidence gathering. This will include research with both consumers and operators, whose input is important for understanding the outcomes and impacts of implementing GAR policies.
A report summarising the evidence gathered on in-scope policies is planned to be published by the end of 2026.
This report is part of a broader research and evidence base that will guide future policymaking and shape evaluation efforts regarding the Gambling Act Review.
After completing the final round of data collection, NatCen will convene stakeholders to review the evidence, which will guide the analysis.
The departure of Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes was announced earlier this month.
NatCen is simplifying how stakeholders can engage with the remaining evaluation research
