The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has released a report that it claims will help measure the social cost of gambling-related harms.

On Tuesday, the UKGC released its Measuring Gambling-Related Harms: A Framework for Action, representing the combined input of the regulator, its independent advisors at the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RSGB) and the UK gaming industry’s self-funded GambleAware charity.

The UKGC has put consumer protection at the heart of its new regulatory approach, which aims to ensure a “fairer and safer” gambling environment. Neil McArthur, who was appointed CEO of the UKGC in April, says the new report will help the regulator and the industry “understand where best to target our resources” to achieve its consumer protection goals.

The report proposes to define gambling-related harm as “the adverse impacts from gambling on the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, communities and society.” These impacts on resources, relationships and health can be both short-lived and persistent.