At the IoL’s National Training Conference, the Gambling Business Group (GBG) hosted a session to discuss the data published in the Gambling Survey for Great Britain.  The intention was to challenge the way in which some of the survey information is portrayed or at least to make users aware that are alternative views and potential concerns about some of the data reported.

The session was interactive and informative and there was support for a summary of the discussion (and the points raised) for licensing authority officers to review and to share with councillors and colleagues.   

As can be seen from the Gambling Commission website, the information on the Gambling Survey for Great Britain is fluid and changing.  That said, GBG have provided an introduction and the summary report as a result of the discussions at the National Training Conference.  The report can be accessed by the link below and is accurate at the time of publication (March 2025).

Introduction

Our Survey Says “Over a million people playing bingo in unlicensed venues and over 400,000 playing in illegal casinos every four weeks”

• That’s what the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) figures show.  This overestimation in the survey will have a similar exaggerating effect on estimations of problem gambling levels.
• This summary from the Gambling Business Group sets out the concerns flagged in an independent assessment of the survey methodology.
• DCMS Ministers are still citing the NHS Health Survey figures.
• LAs should exercise caution when using the GSGB figures, particularly around decision making.
• The GSGB is just one piece in the jigsaw of gambling research. To believe the GSGB is an accurate survey one must also believe:
  • that all previous official statistics collected over the course of almost two decades have been inaccurate; this includes the NHS Health Survey with all of its other helpful data.
  • that a large number of licensed operators have consistently under-reported customer numbers (or that a vast and hitherto undetected black market exists for land based bingo, casino and the football pools)

View or download the GBG Summary Report