The Gambling Commission has published new research measuring overall levels of consumer trust in the British gambling industry, producing a composite trust index score of 47.9%.
The figure was generated using a set of questions incorporated into the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, known as the GSGB, which is the regulator’s primary ongoing research tool.
The composite score draws on responses relating to accountability, transparency, corruption, fairness, and the protection of young and vulnerable people across the industry.
Participants were presented with eight separate statements and asked to select a number between one and five indicating how strongly they agreed or disagreed with each.
Unlike previous studies that asked broadly whether gamblers considered the UK industry trustworthy, this more granular approach was designed to fill identified evidence gaps and inform future policy decisions.
The Gambling Commission has been careful to stress that the data remains in development, with results described as indicative rather than definitive at this stage.
When broken down by category, accountability of the industry to the regulator emerges as the strongest area, recording an agreement rate of 66.3% among survey participants.
Trust falls sharply when it comes to how clearly offers and betting odds are presented to consumers, with only 50.1% of respondents expressing confidence in that area.
The three remaining categories covering corruption, protection of the young and vulnerable, and game fairness all returned scores ranging between 40.1% and 42.8%.
An inverse relationship between participation levels and trust scores was observed when results were split by gambling product, presenting a notable pattern for regulators to consider.
Lottery draws attracted the largest sample base of 6,388 respondents but recorded one of the lower composite trust scores, coming in at 48.6% among participants.
Casino games achieved the highest composite trust score of 53.2%, though this figure came from the smallest sample base of just 466 survey respondents.
Age also proved to be a significant factor in the findings, with younger gamblers aged between 18 and 24 recording the lowest composite index rating of 43.6%.
Trust levels increased steadily across each older age group, with participants aged 75 and above scoring the highest demographic trust rating at 51.7%.
The Gambling Commission intends to continue developing this research throughout 2026, using the current data only as a foundation for future analysis and comparison.
New and refined survey questions are being explored as part of an ongoing data assurance process, with the regulator looking to sharpen the accuracy of its measurements over time.
The impact of the illegal gambling market on consumer perceptions has been flagged as a vital area for follow-up, representing what the commission acknowledges remains something of a black hole in its research to date.
