The Gambling Commission treats the GSGB like a gifted child; but most in the industry consider it to be a spoilt brat pampered by the regulator. And not so gifted either. There is increasing disquiet among stakeholders from all quarters over the continuing flaws in the research findings and consultant Craig Morgan has added his assessment to the lobby looking for change in the GSGB methodology.
Senior gambling consultant Craig Morgan is the latest industry figure to raise questions over the accuracy of the statistics produced by the Gambling Commission on problem gambling. Writing in response to Coinslot’s recent correction requested by the regulator, Morgan posed the question: “are Britain’s gambling ‘crisis’ numbers built on sand?”
Citing recent data from the GSGB, Morgan expressed concern that incorrect and unsubstantiated claims are skewing the narrative on harmful gambling, observing that “every headline deserves a second look.”
“The latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain has made headlines suggesting 2.7 percent of adults are ‘problem gamblers,’ up from previous estimates of around 0.3 percent,” wrote Morgan. “But dig into the data, and cracks begin to show.”
“Low response rates, self-selection bias, and a gambling-focused framing mean the GSGB likely over-represents gamblers and overstates harm.
Even the Office for Statistics Regulation and an independent LSE review have warned policymakers to treat these figures with caution; the numbers are not directly comparable with past surveys.”
In the Commission’s defence, they too say that the numbers cannot be directly comparable to past surveys.
To counter that however, one might quote the old adage, they would say that wouldn’t they?
And the rationale for that would be the Commission’s absolute determination to rewrite the historical dataset on problem gambling, and effectively erase the problem gambling surveys conducted by the health authorities over the past 15 years which have recorded on average a rate of 0.3-0.5 percent of the population over the past decade.
The HSE surveys were suppressed in 2024 with the Commission asserting themselves as the sole source of problem gambling data in the UK.
It has proved to be an extremely controversial decision, and one criticised at all levels from the industry to the Office for National Statistics via two independent assessors.
And Craig Morgan continued to voice his concerns adding that despite the caveats attached to the GSGB data, both the Commission and major media outlets have used the higher estimates “to paint a picture of a growing gambling ‘crisis.’”
“That narrative drives stricter regulation, political pressure, and public concern. All of this is based on data the regulator itself admits may overstate the problem?”
“When flawed surveys meet policymaking, the result can be exaggerated harm and misguided regulation. Better data equals better policy. Until then, every headline deserves a second look.”
Originally published on Coinslot on December 15, 2025. Republished with permission.