The Gambling Commission (GC) has released its Evidence Gaps and Priorities programme, which explains six key areas the Commission will focus on between now and 2026.

These can be split into two groups, the first being societal elementals and the second being attributes that can be directly affected by the gambling industry.

For example, early gambling experiences and gateway products, the range and variability of gambling experiences, and gambling-related harms and vulnerability are the themes with the most evidence that relates to the community surrounding the individual.

The GC explains how it will use a newly formed Gambling Survey to improve its understanding of consumer journeys and the individual circumstances that can increase invulnerability in people.

By using a pilot methodology review report that was published last year, the study will focus on factors such as depression, domestic violence and major life events.

Tim Miller, GC Executive Director of Research and Policy, said: “Evidence matters. We all make decisions based on how we understand the world around us, what the evidence is telling us.

“The bigger the decision and the wider it’s impact, the more likely we all are to want more information before we act.”

The second set of objectives, product characteristics and risks, illegal gambling and crime, and the impact of operator risks relate more to the industry itself rather than socio-ecological factors.

Studies on these will focus on marketing techniques, such as VIP programmes, how gambling products can worsen problem gambling with certain features and how crime is a dimension of gambling-related harm.

Miller continues: “Before the big choices, we all want to fill in the gaps in our understanding.

“What’s true for us all in our daily lives is just as true for our understanding of gambling.”