New research published by the UK Gambling Commission has questioned whether simply making information available gives consumers enough support to make informed gambling decisions. The study found that product design and pace of play can affect a player’s ability to make choices once gambling is underway. Emotional state can also influence how consumers understand and act on information.
The Behavioural Insights Team conducted the work through the Commission’s Consumer Voice Programme. Researchers reviewed 53 sources. The qualitative work included three deliberative focus groups and four in-depth interviews with players considered at higher risk of gambling harm, with findings mapped against the regulator’s Path to Play framework.
Participants generally considered the Commission’s current approach a useful starting point. The existing regulatory framework focuses on fair gambling and transparent rules. It also expects operators to make understandable information readily available. However, the research found a recurring gap between the presence of information and a consumer’s ability to find and understand it, then use it when a decision has to be made.
Information Availability Falls Short
The study found that information can fail to support a genuine decision when consumers struggle to interpret it. Participants also described safer gambling tools that took too much effort to locate. During fast-paced play, relevant details could appear at a point when the consumer was already deeply engaged with the product.
Consumers also bring different levels of experience and understanding to gambling. The proposed consumer-led approach therefore gives greater weight to comprehension throughout play. Under that approach, rules, odds, mechanics, costs and risks would receive the same prominence as promotions and rewards. Information and support would also need to reflect a person’s experience and capability as circumstances change.
Donna Bateman, strategy manager at the Commission, linked the research to the wider purpose of consumer protection.
“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 said.
“While many factors that support ‘informed choice’ are already understood, we wanted a deeper insight into what this means for gambling consumers, both as a concept and in practice.
“This provides useful insights for all stakeholders into consumer experiences and their expectations, and how changes could be made to enhance decision-making processes for consumers.”
Responsibility Can Change During Play
The research also examined how consumers allocate responsibility for informed decisions. Participants supported a shared model, although their expectations changed depending on the stage of gambling. Before play, they showed greater acceptance of personal responsibility when operators made relevant information visible and accessible.
During faster or more immersive play, participants expressed greater support for operator intervention. The report cited pop-ups and comprehension checks as possible measures. It also discussed personalised alerts linked to changes in an individual’s gambling behaviour. Generic messages were easier for participants to ignore, while information connected to their own activity attracted more attention.
That preference for personalised support introduced another concern. Some participants wanted operators to use behavioural data to identify changes in play and provide relevant warnings. At the same time, some questioned the commercial reasons companies might have for collecting the same data. The report noted that technology used for protective interventions can also support targeted marketing.
Information needs also differed across gambling products. Sports bettors tended to focus on whether a bet was accurate and feasible. Casino players described a stronger need for clear explanations during immersive play. The research found that the point at which information appears can shape whether consumers use it, while presentation also affects understanding.
Consumer-Led Definition May Guide Future Work
The Commission plans to use the findings as it develops a consumer-led definition of informed choice. The proposed baseline treats informed choice as a consumer’s ongoing ability to understand and act on information relevant to decisions at each stage of play. This approach considers how that ability may change once gambling begins and gives greater weight to whether information remains usable as circumstances develop.
The study also found that some protections already exist but remain poorly understood or difficult for consumers to locate. Participants raised concerns about issues covered by existing safeguards. The report treated those responses as evidence that awareness of available protections still needs attention and that consumers must be able to understand how the tools work.
Bateman also described the report’s relevance for future work:
“The Behavioural Insights Team’s report, which forms part of our Consumer Voice programme of research, shows the complexities of ‘informed choice’ as a concept. It provides useful insights for all stakeholders into consumer experiences and their expectations, and how changes could be made to enhance decision-making processes for consumers.”
The report recommends further behavioural mapping to translate informed choice into observable and measurable indicators. That work would identify the outcomes that show informed choice is being achieved and determine which behaviours support those outcomes. It would also examine barriers that may stop consumers from understanding or acting on information, with the Commission able to use the results to test future approaches.