University of Reading sports economist has been appointed chief economist of a new independent commission reviewing how gambling is regulated in the UK.
Professor James Reade will lead the economic analysis for the Gambling Policy Commission, which launches today with an open call for evidence. It is the first major independent review of gambling legislation since the Budd Report, which led to the Gambling Act 2005.
The Commission is chaired by Professor Jagjit S. Chadha OBE of the University of Cambridge, a former adviser at the Bank of England. Its members come from economics, law, public policy, health and sport.
Professor Reade said: “Gambling is something millions of people enjoy, but it can also cause real harm. The law that governs it was written before smartphones changed how we live our daily lives, including how many people gamble. We need good evidence, not assumptions, so we can work out what may be working, what is causing problems, and what a modern framework should look like.
“As an economist, my job is to examine the data and interpret what it shows. We would really like anyone with evidence to share it, whether they are researchers, operators, sports bodies, treatment providers or people with lived experience of gambling today.”
Critics have called the 2005 Act ‘analogue legislation’ that is not fit for the digital age. The Commission will look at whether new primary legislation is needed. It will also examine the effects of the 2023 Gambling White Paper, gambling taxation, illicit and offshore gambling, gambling-related harm, consumer protection and the relationship between betting and sport.
Gambling added £5 billion to the UK economy in 2024, and betting and gaming duties raised £3.9 billion in 2025/26.
Professor Reade’s research focuses on betting and prediction markets, market efficiency and decision-making in sport. His football forecasting models are regularly covered in the media. His wider economic analysis of sports data led to an award-winning study of penalty kicks, which found that football penalty takers tend to aim too cautiously. More recently, he co-authored an economic impact study showing Ascot Racecourse contributes more than £260 million to the UK economy, and contributed methodologically to the Independent Football Regulator’s State of the Game Report.
