New Independent Commission to Review Gambling Legislation in England

A new independent expert group, the Gambling Policy Commission (GCP), has been set up to review gambling legislation in England. The group's review was announced on 9 November. The GCP includes experts from fields such as law, health, economics, public policy, academia and sport.

The group will be chaired by Jagjit Chadha OBE, Professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge. James Reade, Professor of Economics at the University of Reading, will serve as the group's chief economist. The GCP's first task is to carry out an evidence-based assessment of the current gambling framework. The commission will examine existing regulations and whether the laws need to be reformed.

The GCP is asking researchers, consumers, operators, industry bodies, treatment and prevention organisations, sports organisations and regulators for written submissions through a call opened on 4 November. Submissions will be accepted until 12 February 2027. The commission said that empirical data, research findings and international comparisons are particularly important. The scope of the review includes the Gambling Act 2005, the reforms introduced by the 2023 Gambling White Paper, offshore gambling, consumer rights and protection, gambling-related harms, and coordination between different state institutions.

Chadha said the last comprehensive independent review was carried out more than twenty years ago. In his view, both the gambling market and the technological environment have changed significantly during that period. The commission acknowledges recent steps such as the 2023 White Paper but notes that they address some problems only in part. Will Hutton, President of the Academy of Social Sciences, said he found the group impressive and that it would provide an independent look at existing laws.