Ian Angus, Gambling Commission Director of Policy, delivered a speech at the Institute of Licensing Gambling Conference earlier this week.
According to the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, or GSGB for short, 48% of adults had gambled in the four weeks previous to the survey, with 38% gambling online compared to 29% in person.
However, when the lottery-only players were removed, 18% had gambled in person and 16% online.
The GSGB also found that 42% of adults rated their gambling experience as positive, while 37% gave a neutral answer.
Angus commented: “And here in lies a key point to always keep in mind when we think about gambling regulation: gambling is enjoyed by millions of people each week and the vast majority of those who gamble will do so with no issues.
“But gambling can and does cause harms as well and left unchecked, sometimes these harms can be severe in the extreme.”
He then continued by discussing the ways in which gambling has evolved over the last few months, particularly since the Budget was announced last year.
The latest quarterly results found that in September last year there were: 8,254 gambling premises across Great Britain; 5,782 of these were betting shops; and 1,454 of them were AGCs or Adult Gaming Centres.
Angus said: “These numbers show slight changes even from the figures for March 2025 - 39 more AGCs, 43 fewer betting shops and 20 more premises overall. These figures and changes of course are minor.
“But they are still interesting when we stop and think about the narrative we sometimes hear in the media.
“It wasn’t so long ago we were being warned of an explosion in gambling premises on the High Street. Things may vary community to community, but the stats don’t back up that view nationwide.”
Following the £26m ($35.2m) investment from the Government to fight illegal gambling, the Commission will focus on how to tackle issues through “a strategic piece of work to review the impact, efficiency and burden of current regulatory requirements.”
Angus noted: “Now if you are sat there listening to all this thinking, that this sounds like potentially an awful lot of change, I think I would agree with you.
“And it will take time to see how all this shakes out, including in the communities you work in. But some things don’t change and that includes the Commission’s goals and our approach.
“We will still want gambling that is safe, fair and crime-free and we still want to work with anyone who shares those goals.”
An upcoming report on land-based gaming machines is also expected later this summer, and Angus explained that stricter responses will be expected from operators.
“In January, we announced that from 29 July 2026, gambling operators must immediately remove machines if the Commission informs them that the manufacture, supply, installation, adaptation, maintenance or repair of the machine was not carried out in reliance on a gaming machine technical operating licence, or did not comply with other standards.”
Finally, Angus concluded that progress can only be made when operators and suppliers work closely with the Commission to “deliver on our shared goals of safer, fairer and crime-free gambling.”
The Gambling Commission is entering its final year of its Corporate Strategy and recently published its Business Plan for 2026/27
