The Gambling Commission has published an update on its evaluation of a sub-set of policies forming part of the Gambling Act Review, as the study on the real-world ramifications of the legislation moves into the final stage of evidence gathering.

Undertaken in partnership with NatCen, the research uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to study the impact of policies on consumers and operators, with a report summarising the evidence expected “by the end of 2026.”

“The evaluation is on track to deliver emerging insights into the implementation and impact of several key GAR policies by the end of 2026,” said senior policy evaluation manager Richard Sutcliffe. “We’ve had to prioritise which policies to include at this point in time, based on the implementation timeline and the scope of the evaluation.”

“Policies within this phase of evaluation work include Online Slots Stake limits, Financial Vulnerability Checks, changes to Direct Marketing, among others. The evaluation uses a mixed-methods approach.”

The methodology includes interviews, focus groups and diary studies with people who gamble, as well as contribution claims workshops and surveys for operators, alongside the collection of operator data for a quantitative analysis.

“This report, as one part of the wider research and evidence base, will inform future policy making and also help shape future monitoring and evaluation efforts around the Gambling Act Review.”