The UK’s Gambling Commission has partnered with research suppliers to support its consumer voice framework that aims to “delve deeper” into gambler behaviours.

The framework was created to expand the Gambling Commission’s research capabilities. It has established deals with four research support companies to help it understand gambling motivations and reach deeper into gambling demographics.

The gambling consumer voice framework will now be supported by mixed methodology research firm Yonder Consulting; a qualitative study firm, Humankind Research; market research consultancy Savanta; and the UK-based Behavioural Insights Team.

“Behavioural Insights Team combines a deep understanding of human behaviour with evidence-led problem solving to improve people’s lives,” Behavioural Insights Team Senior Advisor Eleanor Collerton said.

“We’re excited to contribute our expertise in experimental research to generate new insights, address key evidence gaps, and help ensure consumer voices shape meaningful and effective gambling policy, building on more than five years of work to reduce gambling harms in GB.”

Yonder Consulting already has a working relationship with the Gambling Commission and has contributed to a number of research programmes that examined the unlicensed market and the impact of bonus offers.

Each supplier has signed a two-year contract with the Gambling Commission. These deals can be extended to 2029.

“With these four partners, we’re better equipped to commission high-quality research quickly and use a range of approaches to respond to emerging trends or risks as they develop,” said Laura Carter, the Gambling Commission’s head of research.

“The Consumer Voice programme is central to our efforts to ensure our decisions are grounded in the lived experiences of all consumers and the evolving realities of gambling.”

Gambling Survey for Great Britain support

The Gambling Commission stated that the consumer voice framework complements its national Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB).

The most recent GSGB study, published on 22 May, found that overall gambling participation in the UK between September 2024 and January 2025 fell by three percentage points from the three months prior.

Participation in gambling activity in the last four weeks of the survey was 46%, a drop from 49% reported in NatCen’s previous three-month study that ended October 2024.

A regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority, UK’s Office for Statistics Regulation undertook a review of the GSGB survey after concerns were raised regarding its reliability.

In a report published the same day as the latest results, the Office for Statistics Regulation made nine recommendations to improve the GSGB study but noted that it sees no reason why the data should not be disseminated.

The recommendations call for the Gambling Commission to supply more detailed information on its quality assurance and validation processes. It also requests that the watchdog clearly communicate potential biases that may affect the GSGB estimates that are in the statistical releases.