UK Gambling Commission Publishes New Informed Choice Research
The Gambling Commission has published new research examining what "informed choice" actually means to gambling consumers in practice, moving the regulatory concept beyond its legal definition to how customers experience it day-to-day.
The research, carried out for the Commission by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) as part of its Consumer Voice programme, was introduced in a blog post by the regulator's strategy manager, Donna Bateman, published on September 15, 2026.
The Commission's current Corporate Strategy, published in April 2024, committed it to building a deeper understanding of the risks to its "fair and open" licensing objective, which includes the expectation that consumers "are able to make informed choices about their gambling."
"The concept of 'informed choice' is a key tenet of consumer protection and rights law, and at a basic level, it means giving the consumer the right information at the right time in a way they understand so they can make a genuine decision," Bateman wrote.
Testing The Standard Against Real Customers
The Commission's Statement of Principles already sets out an expectation that licensees communicate with customers "in a way that is clear, not misleading, and allows them to make a properly informed judgment about whether to gamble."
The new research was designed to test how that principle actually lands with real customers, rather than assuming operators' terms and product information achieve it by default.
The published findings and appendices show the research explored how views on informed choice differ depending on the type of product a customer is using, from promotional offers to online sports betting markets, and where in the customer journey people feel they have, or lack, the information needed to make a genuine decision.
What Happens Next?
The Commission said the findings "show the complexities of 'informed choice' as a concept" and are intended to be useful to all stakeholders, including licensees designing product information and terms, as they consider how their own communications measure up to the standard consumers actually expect.
The research forms part of a wider series of Consumer Voice publications that the Commission has been rolling out throughout 2026, alongside its ongoing work on affordability checks and operator advertising standards.
The regulator has not set out a formal policy response to this specific research, but has said its Consumer Voice programme will continue to inform future guidance on how operators present information to customers.
