Evaluation of the Gambling Act Review: Diary Studies

We are carrying out an independent evaluation of the Gambling Act Review and the implementation and impact of changes to gambling-related policies.

Why is this research being carried out? 

NatCen has been commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) and the Gambling Commission (GC) to conduct an evaluation of the Gambling Act Review 2005 (referred to as The Gambling Act Review or GAR). The GAR proposed changes to gambling-related policies, including some which specifically impact people aged 18 to 24. The evaluation of the GAR aims to understand how these policy changes are being implemented, whether they are being delivered effectively, if they are achieving their intended outcomes, and the impact they have.

As part of the evaluation, NatCen are conducting diary studies with young people aged 18 to 24 who have experience of gambling. We want to understand how young people experience the policy changes which impact them.

What are diary studies? 

Diary studies are a way to collect data about a topic or experience from individuals’ perspectives by asking people to complete diary entries and provide written responses to questions. Diary studies are a creative research method that gives participants (such as yourself) increased control and privacy, and increased choice over your responses and how you share your thoughts.

Diary studies are taking place over three different times in 2025, and early 2026. We have completed the first two waves of diary studies, which took place over April and September 2025. We are currently recruiting participants to take part in the third wave.

Who is taking part?

We are conducting diary studies with people aged between 18 to 24 (until at least March 2026) and who live in England, Wales, or Scotland. We would like to recruit people who have experience with a range of methods of gambling, such as playing the lottery, scratch cards, bingo, casino games, sports betting, and any other kind of gambling.

What does taking part involve?

For Wave 3 of the diary studies, you will be asked to respond to a set of questions over a period of three weeks in February. There will also be a short call at the start and another short call at the end of these questions. In total, these tasks and calls will take about 2-3 hours of your time.

We are interested to hear about your experiences and journeys with gambling as you see them, and there are no right or wrong answers.

Here is how the study will work:

  • We would like to speak with you over the phone before you decide to take part, to discuss the research and understand if you are eligible to take part. This will take around 10-15 minutes.
  • Taking part in this study will involve answering questions in a diary format about your recent experiences of gambling, such as how often you have done a certain activity, if you have noticed certain things when gambling, or how you find certain elements of the gambling experience.
  • To complete the diary entries, you will need to complete two rounds of two tasks. Each task consists of two questions with a number of additional prompts to think about in the response. Over both rounds, this would mean answering eight questions in total.
    • The questions in both rounds of tasks are very similar. This is to understand how experiences change over a short period of time.
  • You will have around 10 days to complete the first-round tasks before receiving the next round. In total, participation in the diary studies will last around three weeks.
  • Each task (diary entry) takes up to 30 minutes to complete, so in total, both rounds of tasks will take around 2 hours. For some people, it takes less time to complete these.
  • We would like to speak with you at the end the wave to get your feedback. This will take around 10-15 minutes and this time will be included in the time for the diary questions.

Other important information about the diary studies:

  • The diary entries will be done via an online platform called CMNTY.
  • You can complete the diary entries at a time that suits you. You don’t have to answer all the questions in one go.
  • You can fill in the diary entries by typing your responses, dictating your responses to your devices to convert to text, or submitting audio responses depending on your preference.
  • You will be remunerated for taking part. You will receive £50 digital Love2Shop voucher for taking part in Wave 3 of the diary studies.
  • All the answers that you provide will be confidential and you will not be identifiable from your responses. After you have answered these questions, we will anonymise your responses to analyse them with those from other people who have taken part. This will allow us to understand trends and patterns in young peoples’ experiences with gambling. We will not inform anyone that you have taken part. The only exception to this confidentiality is if you tell us at any point during our contact with you that you or another person are at serious risk of harm. In this case we would be required to discuss this with the NatCen Disclosure Board and possibly with external agencies, such as the emergency services, as per our disclosure policy.

Why should I take part?

Sharing your experiences of gambling-related policies and gambling in general will help NatCen, DCMS, and GC to better understand how the changes to policies have been implemented, what the outcomes have been, and what impact they have had. To acknowledge the time that it will take to participate in the diary studies, you will receive a £50 Love2Shop voucher for taking part in Wave 3.

Do I have to take part?

Participation in the research is completely voluntary; you do not have to take part if you do not want to. You are free to change your mind at any point before and during the diary studies and you can edit or withdraw your answers until we start analysis. During participation in the diary studies, you are also free not to answer any questions you would prefer not to answer. You can find out more about this from our privacy notice.

Is this research confidential? 

All the answers that you provide will be confidential and treated with the strictest confidence in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Legislation (GDPR). We will not inform anyone that you have taken part. The only exception to this confidentiality is if we become aware of any safeguarding issue which would require us to involve other people. You can read more about this via our privacy notice.

What will happen to the information I give?

We will use information collected from this research to write a report for DCMS and GC. The information you provide will be treated confidentially and used only for the purpose of the research described above. We will make sure that nobody is able to identify you from your answers and what is included in the report.

How do I take part?

We are currently recruiting participants to take part in Wave 3 (taking place in February 2026) as Wave 1 and Wave 2 have already concluded. If you would like to take part or if you have questions about the diary studies, please contact us using the following contact details by Monday the 26th of January 2026:

Email: GARdiarystudies@natcen.ac.uk 

Telephone: 020 7549 7150

Support

For some people, discussing or thinking about their experiences may be upsetting or distressing. We want to ensure that you have the contact details of organisations who you can talk to and who can help you. 

Support with gambling

National Gambling Helpline / GamCare – free information, advice and support for anyone harmed by gambling; phone, live chat; group chat and forum to contact others in similar situations and to find support.

National Problem Gambling Clinic – to ask about being referred to the clinic you can contact them on:

Financial Support

Citizens Advice – advice on debt, benefits, employment, housing, discrimination

The Trussell Trust – nationwide network of food banks providing emergency food and support

Universal Credit (UC) helpline – advice on Universal Credit

Shelter – free information, support and advice to people facing homelessness or experiencing housing issues

Personal and emotional support

Samaritans – free and confidential emotional support if you need to talk.

Mind – a mental health charity with a wealth of information on mental health conditions and services 

SupportLine – confidential emotional support to children, young adults and adults

Papyrus – free and confidential support for young people under 35 experience thoughts of suicide.