Gambling participation and problem gambling
Gambling behaviour is increasingly a subject of public health and policy interest. We regularly collect data on gambling both in terms of information about the consumer and about the method and frequency with which they gamble.
We collect participation data through quarterly telephone and online surveys and problem gambling data from the Health survey for England, Scottish health survey, and our Welsh problem gambling survey. We also monitor underage gambling using our young persons survey.
Give us feedback on our statistics
This data provides the most robust information to date on gambling participation and problem gambling in Great Britain and provides a baseline for any future changes in gambling activity.
Gambling participation
46%
|
of people have gambled in the past four weeks
|
51%
|
of men have gambled in the past four weeks
|
41%
|
of women have gambled in the past four weeks
|
18%
|
of people have gambled online in the past four weeks
|
Online gambling behaviour (year to Dec 2018)
96%
|
of online gamblers gamble at home
|
45%
|
of online gamblers gamble using a laptop
|
55%
|
of online gamblers gamble using a mobile or tablet device
|
23%
|
of online gamblers have bet in-play in the past four weeks
|
Problem gambling
0.7%
|
of people aged 16+ in Great Britain are classified as problem gamblers (2016)
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Our activity also supports the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling (ABSG) objectives to advise on strategic priorities for research, education and treatment into minimising gambling-related harm. The RGSB sets the strategy for research priorities, with a programme of research being delivered by GambleAware.
Survey data on levels of gambling participation
spreadsheet of the survey data
1 MB
Download
Gambling participation in 2018: behaviour, awareness and attitudes
full report
4 MB
Download
Gambling participation in 2018: technical annex
including the survey questions asked
486 KB
Download
Gambling behaviour in Great Britain 2016
Combined health survey report 2016
1 MB
Download