About us

Our editorial mission

The Consumer Brief exists to give a UK household a plain reading of the non-GamStop topic, one that treats the household budget as the primary subject and the operator marketing as background noise. The site publishes no operator names, no rankings, no bonus codes and no affiliate links. It exists because the search-engine results a worried partner or parent finds on this topic are dominated by pages whose incentives are aligned with sending clicks to offshore operators, and a household in that position deserves an alternative source that speaks in the same tone a public-information site would use.

The editorial voice on this site is behavioural and economic rather than moral. We are not trying to talk anyone out of gambling, and we are not trying to talk anyone into it. Our starting point is that a household choosing to spend in this category should be able to see what it is choosing, what it is giving up, what the wider financial system thinks of the transaction, and where free support is available if the arrangement stops working. That is a small and specific goal, and it is the only one this site holds itself to. Everything on the site follows from it.

How we produce, check and update content

Every page is drafted by Ellis Torrance, reviewed by Dr Bea Lindenberg and cross-checked against public UK sources on a small whitelist. That whitelist is gamblingcommission.gov.uk, gamstop.co.uk, gamcare.org.uk, begambleaware.org and gov.uk, plus legislation.gov.uk for statute anchors. When a page reproduces a numeric or dated claim, the source sits alongside it in a "sources and verification" panel with a check date. Pages are re-checked at least once a quarter, and any material change published by the regulator, GamStop or GamCare triggers a re-check of the pages that reference the affected topic.

The review is a discipline-trained read, not a rubber stamp. Dr Lindenberg reads every draft twice, once for the argument and once for the household on the other end of the writing. She checks that behavioural claims are consistent with the current empirical literature, that no page overstates a mechanism the evidence does not support, and that the household-economics language stays honest to how UK households actually make these decisions. Where the review disagrees with the draft, the draft changes. Where the disagreement cannot be resolved, the paragraph does not run.

Editorial policy on operator names, bonuses, and affiliate links

The site carries no operator brand names, no bonus offers, no promotional codes and no affiliate links. This is not a stylistic choice, it is a design choice built into the editorial framework. Naming an operator would turn the site into a directory of offshore providers, which we do not want to be. Carrying an affiliate link would tie the site's revenue to the reader's onward click, which is exactly the incentive structure that makes the rest of the search results in this space unreliable. Our position is that a household deserves a place to read about the topic without being pushed toward a transaction, and that place cannot exist if it takes a cut of the transactions it discusses.

The same policy applies to social media, sponsored content and partnerships with any operator, aggregator or affiliate business. The Consumer Brief does not accept operator sponsorship in any form, direct or indirect. If a business in the sector approaches the site for coverage, the answer is no, and the request is not passed to the writer. Where a page mentions an institution by name, the institution is a UK regulator, a public-information charity or a public authority. That is the only class of named entity that appears on this site, and the boundary is drawn deliberately.

Contact and corrections

The Consumer Brief welcomes corrections. If a fact on the site is wrong, a source is outdated, or a phrasing has drifted in a way that no longer serves the reader, please write to the editor and the page will be looked at and, if appropriate, changed. Corrections are made without a fuss, dated in the page footer, and noted in the changelog for that page. Editorial disagreements about framing are also welcome, and are read in the same spirit even when they do not lead to a change.

The editor is contactable at [email protected]. Correspondence relating to a specific page should include the page URL and the specific claim or phrasing at issue, so that any response can be prompt and specific. For requests relating to review notes on a page, please address the message to the editor with a note that it should be passed to the reviewer. Reviewer, Dr Bea Lindenberg, behavioural economist, consumer research. The site does not carry a corporate contact number. Any concern about gambling harm should be directed to the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 rather than to the site's editorial address, so that the household gets the right kind of help without delay.