The UK Gambling Commission invites cross-sector parties to discuss how to “close the gaps” in UK gambling knowledge at a conference later in the week.
150 stakeholders from academia, research, industry, the UKGC’s advisory bodies, and the third sector will come together at this event to increase their understanding of gambling behavior.
Ben Haden is Director of Research and Statistics for the UKGC. He stated that an “increasing number” of research datasets and big data’ analytics have helped to understand gambling and its habits.
He made it clear, however, that there is still much to be done.
Haden stated that: “Let’s be real – the collective understanding we all share about general gambling behaviour, consumer risk, harms experienced, and what the industry can do to minimize it effectively isn’t the sum of these parts.” There are some pieces missing from this puzzle.
The conference will open with a speech by Alison Pritchard Deputy National Statistician, Director General for Data Capability at Office for National Statistics. This will be followed by panels, presentations, engagements on key topics, and Q&A with speakers from the gambling industry as well as other external stakeholders.
Six research projects in development will have poster sessions throughout day. Early career researchers will be given the opportunity to “show some new thinking”
Haden said, “We know that having so many views in the same place makes it unlikely that everyone will agree on everything. That’s okay. We want to find a time when we can all be open and honest about what we know and what we lack the ability to appreciate, and work together on the things that will get us there faster.
“I believe that the fact that we reached the maximum attendance at the Conference before we closed RSVPs shows that we are not the only ones who feel it is important to get together to discuss these topics.”
Haden added that the UKGC would publish’some reflections’ about the conference once it is over.
The UKGC has held consultations with various stakeholders in the gambling industry over the past two-years to help inform its policies. In addition, the Gambling Act has been reviewed by the UK to improve the country’s gaming and betting infrastructure.
These consultations cover licensing, compliance and enforcement policy procedures, penalties for regulatory violations and operator accountability, as well as the applicationof GAMSTOP self-exclusion scheme.
