Gambling Policies Getting Fair Review by DCMS

by James Gibson, 9 December 2024

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has vowed to evaluate the Gambling Act Review’s policy measures in a way that’s both ethical and fair.

DCMS works closely with the UKGC for a productive Gambling Act evaluation. © BiljaST, Pixabay

Key facts:

The Gambling Act Review Evaluation Plan includes 60 policies
The National Centre for Social Research has been hired to summarise those policies
As part of the plan, people who have experienced gambling harm will be consulted

Gambling Act Review’s Impact Given Honest Review

Back in April 2023, the white paper Gambling Act Review was published. It summarises plans for reforming gambling regulation in the UK. The aim is to modernise, simplify and strengthen regulation.

More than a year and a half later, the DCMS and UKGC are looking at its impact in a critical but fair way. They published the Gambling Act Review Evaluation Plan that looks at the impact of the paper’s policies.

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) has been hired to carry out a thorough and unbiased summary of the policies. It began carrying out its research in January 2024, with fieldwork research starting in January 2025.

NatCen is planning on delivering its report in 2026, though a specific date hasn’t yet been confirmed. The organisation’s report will be a complete summary of the effects of the Gambling Act Review.

The Gambling Act Review’s Policies

The Gambling Act Review contains more than 60 policy measure proposals. What makes the paper as a whole difficult to track is that its measures are to be enacted by a mix of stakeholders; they have different timeframes and ways of being implemented.

What’s also worth mentioning is that as policies come into effect, they could have an impact on policies that haven’t yet been properly enacted. Ideally, the paper’s measures would be introduced in a more streamlined way, though this won’t happen.

With so many measures to introduce, it was always inevitable that introducing them all wouldn’t be a simple process. The overall process of getting everything done is complex, but still manageable.

Aims of the Evaluation

NatCen’s evaluation intends to examine the effects and impact of the Gambling Act Review on stakeholders. It’s going to look at how particular measures have been introduced and what the consequences of their introduction are.

It will also look at individual policies and what changes they’ve brought about, while also looking at how different policies have affected one another. Key political and societal events such as the 2024 General Election will be taken into account.

The evaluation’s ultimate aim is to help stakeholders come up with better policies and enable them to implement those policies more effectively. It also aims to improve learning outcomes by delivering a fair and detailed assessment of policy measures.

NatCen’s Fieldwork

The fieldwork set to be carried out by NatCen from January 2025 will work on addressing seven key questions. These are as follows:

Outcomes and Impacts: What outcomes did the policies have? Did the intended ones happen and were there any unintended ones?
Implementations: Were the proposals implemented in the way they were meant to be? And did they reach the people they were meant to? If things didn’t go according to plan, why not?
Contributions: What contributions have proposals made to promoting fair regulation, improving gambling protections and reducing harm from gambling?
Combined Impact: What total effect did all the policies have together?
Success Factors: What factors were needed for each of the policies to be a success?
Contextual Influences: What role did both internal and external factors play in contributing positively or negatively to the policies?
Future Policy: What lessons can be learned to help with the development and implementation of future policies related to gambling?

Two Advisory Panels

As part of the evaluation process, a Lived Experience Panel (LEP) consisting of people with real-life experience of gambling harm will be consulted. This will happen alongside consultation with the UKGC’s currently existing Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP).

The LEP will offer advice and general input throughout the evaluation process, sharing opinions, guidance and suggestions based on their own experiences of gambling. Their contributions will be considered and could shape how various things proceed.

There will also be an Evaluation Advisory Group. This will be set up to offer additional input and prevent potential negative effects from happening; it will be made up of professionals with experience in gambling policies.

Neither of the two groups will have any part in the development of policies. They are simply there to be consulted and to offer thoughts, opinions and advice. Their input will be taken into consideration.

The Labour Government is apparently keen to ensure that all of the Gambling Act Review’s policies come into effect. This is part of the government’s attempt to refresh UK gambling and make it more regulated.

James Gibson Author and Casino Analyst

About the Author

James has been working as a freelance writer for over a decade. At first, he never thought he would end up writing about gambling, but then he accepted a job writing about bingo sites and became interested in the subject. He then started focusing on this area and has now built up over seven years of experience and expertise in iGaming content writing.