Problem and at-risk gambling
Problem gambling means gambling to a degree that compromises, disrupts, or damages family, personal or recreational pursuits. The Commission’s most robust sources of statistics on the prevalence of problem and at-risk gambling are the national health surveys. You can view the the latest health survey data (England) (opens in a new tab). The Commission also tracks problem gambling data via the quarterly telephone survey to provide a more regular and up to date measure of problem gambling prevalence. The Commission is currently piloting a new approach for collecting gambling participation and prevalence data in the future. Further details on participation and prevalence can be found on our website.
Using the PGSI (Problem Gambling Severity Index) mini screen, the telephone survey for year to Dec 2021 shows the problem gambling rate to be 0.3% (statistically stable since year to Dec 2020). In addition, for year to Dec 2021, the moderate risk is 0.8% and the low risk rate sits at 1.9%, both statistically stable compared to year to Dec 2020. This stability in 2021 follows previous significant decreases in the problem gambling and at risk rates as described in the Year to Sept 2021 release.
Figure 5
Low risk, moderate risk and problem gamblers (according to the PGSI mini-screen).
Data from chart
| Year to Dec 2017 | Year to Dec 2018 | Year to Dec 2019 | Year to Dec 2020 | Year to Dec 2021 | Significant 2020 to 2021† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low risk | 3.2 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.9 | No |
| Moderate risk | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.8 | No |
| Problem gambler | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | No |
† Statistically significant change from Year to December 2020 at the 95% level.
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Perceptions
Last updated: 22 February 2022
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