The Parliamentary All-Party Betting & Gaming Group (APBGG) has announced the launch of an investigation regarding the competence and effectiveness of the Gambling Commission.

It comes as a response to certain claims that operators are “too scared” to go public with their concerns regarding the regulator, along with numerous criticisms of the Commission from various members of the industry.

The APBGG's co-chair, Scott Benton MP, said: "For a number of years, industry members have come to us and complained about the activities of the Commission. They have been too scared to go public with their concerns, some even about the very legality of the Commission's undertakings, due to the Commission’s power over them.

"As they have no formal method of complaint apart from to the Commission itself, we feel it is our duty to provide a conduit for legitimate criticism of the regulator."

According to some of the claims, the Commission has acted beyond the power of a regulator, breaching its code, and providing a service described as "either of poor quality and/or incompetently delivered." This inquiry is in synchronisation with the examination of the Gambling Commission’s role within the Government’s review of the 2005 Gambling Act.

A Gambling Commission spokesperson responded: "The Gambling Commission is committed to making gambling fairer, safer and crime-free. 

"To achieve this, we regularly and openly engage with parliamentarians, on both the Government’s Gambling Act review, which we support as a statutory advisor to the secretary of state for DCMS, and to discuss a range of topics within our regulatory purview with individuals and groups, including the APPG on Betting and Gaming."