British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007, Next one due late 2010

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British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007
Executive Summary
Introduction
The British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007 (the Survey) benchmarked participation in gambling
in Britain and provided a range of data to inform our regulation of the industry. The Survey built on
the 1999 British Gambling Prevalence Survey (the 1999 Survey) commissioned by GamCare.
The nature of gambling has changed substantially since 1999. The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act)
provides new regulations for both old and new forms of gambling. For example, the Act recognises
and accommodates the technological changes in gambling that have occurred over the last 40
years and covers the regulation of remote gambling in Britain for the first time. The Act also allows
for wider advertising of gambling.
As well as allowing comparisons with results from 1999, the Survey provides baseline data before
the Act came into force on 1 September 2007. According to the Survey there has been little
change in the percentage of people participating in gambling and the percentage of problem
gamblers since 1999. The prevalence of problem gambling is relatively low compared with that
found in other countries.
However, the Gambling Commission (the Commission) remains concerned that there are still over
a quarter of a million problem gamblers in Britain. There is a clear need for the industry and the
Commission to work together to reduce the harm caused by gambling. This is tackled through the
licensing regime introduced by the Act that requires that gambling operators comply with the
Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.