Early gambling experiences and gateway products
This theme is about understanding the gambling behaviours of children (under 16 years old), young people (those aged 16 and 17 years old) and young adults (18 to 24 years old) and what their journeys into gambling look like. It also considers how other consumers, including those at heightened risk of harm, are introduced to gambling for the first time and how this influences their behaviour. Finally, it encompasses how consumers engage with new products and emerging activities that are not gambling but have similarities to gambling.
Roadmap - Emerging activities and risk to consumers
Sub-topics for this roadmap are:
- The features of emerging and gambling-adjacent activities
- Consumer motivations and understanding of emerging activities
- The level of risk these activities present to consumers, particularly those who are more vulnerable.
The impact of activities that are gambling-adjacent or blur the line between gambling and other hobbies and interests is a key area where further evidence is needed, particularly on whether exposure to these activities can increase the risk of harm to consumers. This includes research into the features of emerging activities (such as crypto gambling, crash games or prize draws) and gambling-adjacent activities (such as loot boxes and gambling-adjacent aspects of gaming and social media) to determine if they act as gateway activities for new gamblers, and if they are likely to contribute to the development of harmful gambling behaviours.
While some research has been published on the relationship between gaming and gambling, we currently do not have longitudinal evidence on the impact of this over time, and we do not know as much about consumers’ experiences of and attitudes to other emerging gambling or gambling-adjacent activities. We also need to understand the level of risk posed by these activities to consumers, particularly those who might be considered more vulnerable such as young people. The focus of our own activities here will be to understand how these consumer experiences might impact how we regulate licensed gambling. It will be for others to consider whether such activities, that sit outside the legal definition of gambling, should be subject to any form of future regulation.
Roadmap - Pathways into gambling amongst under 18s
Sub-topics for this roadmap are:
- Drivers and motivations for underage gambling on regulated and non-regulated activities
- Common pathways and channels into gambling or gambling-adjacent activities
- Impact of early involvement in gambling and gambling-adjacent activities on subsequent behaviour
- The role of parental and/or peer influence
- The impact of financial and social freedoms in early adulthood.
Understanding pathways into gambling for under 18-year-olds is an important topic which directly relates to our core licensing objectives. We have previously published qualitative insights from research with 11 to 17-year-olds, exploring their lived experiences of gambling. We know that young people are regularly exposed to gambling in an online environment that is largely unfiltered and unsupervised, without fully grasping its proximity to their daily lives or potential impact over time.
We need further evidence on the motivations for underage gambling on regulated as well as non-regulated activities, for example how the volume of gambling content online influences underage gambling. More research is needed to understand common pathways into gambling or gambling-adjacent activities (such as social gaming, social media influencers or gambling-adjacent activities on social media) and the longer term impact of early involvement in gambling and gambling-adjacent activities on subsequent behaviour. There is also a need for more evidence on the role of parental or peer influence, and other aspects of growing up like the financial and social freedoms that early adulthood brings, on ongoing gambling behaviour.
The focus of our own activities here will be to inform our work in preventing underage gambling on licensed products.
Forward look - Early gambling experiences and gateway products
Our priority evidence need in this area is robust longitudinal evidence, so that we can understand the impact of early experiences on later gambling behaviours and risk of harm. This will enable us to better understand when, why and how gambling-related harm develops and changes over time, the common entry points or gateways that introduce people to longer term gambling journeys, and if and how regulatory action can support and encourage safer gambling behaviours.
Our own future research plans include further qualitative research with teenage boys and young men, as we are aware that this group is particularly engaged with gambling and gambling-adjacent behaviours. We are also currently planning to conduct some research to explore young people’s experiences of TikTok raffles, which are emerging as a risk area of interest.
Are you conducting research or planning to conduct research on any of our priority topics? If so, please tell us about it by completing our online form (opens in new tab).
Find out more about our other evidence roadmaps. You can find links to the other themes in the related content section.
Last updated: 23 October 2025
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