Consumer protection and data

The Gambling Commission’s interim business plan, published in April 2022, sets out five key priorities, one of which is for data and insight to be a primary focus for the Gambling Commission. The panel (comprised of: Anna Soilleux-Mills, Partner at CMS (moderator); Adrian Ford, General Manager at Football DataCo; Professor David Forrest, Professor of Economics at Liverpool University; Ian Ince, Chief Compliance Officer at Playtech; and Adam Rivers, Director at KPMG Economics) discusses why regulators would want to use data in the first place. Firstly, for thematic research: to show how customers are changing in the way that they interact with the market. Secondly, once problematic areas have been identified, this can be used to inform and design effective policies. The panel considers how data can be used to assist this priority of the Commission, whilst highlighting how data can only get you so far: while data is clearly useful, the panel discuss how data needs to be utilised to achieve the best results.