Underage gambling participation and the effectiveness of land-based licensee age-verification controls
This data is taken from the annual Young People and gambling survey conducted by Ipsos Mori on our behalf.
The aim of our regulatory activity is to see the rate of underage people gambling on products we regulate decrease.
In 2023, we further improved this study by increasing the age range from 11 to 17. Previous surveys used an age range of 11 to 16, so data from 2023 onwards is not directly comparable with data from previous years.
11 to 17 year olds participation rates - 2023 report
| Data definitions | Year to December 2023 (percentage) |
|---|---|
| Percentage of 11 to 17 year olds in Great Britain (GB) actively involved (that is spent their own money) on age restricted regulated forms of gambling in the last 7 days | 2.0% | Percentage of 11 to 17 year olds in GB actively involved (that is spent their own money) on age restricted regulated forms of gambling in the last 12 months | 4.0% |
Notes
This data was collected as part of the Young People and Gambling Report 2023. It is a subset of the broader category used in the published report of ‘Any gambling – Regulated forms of gambling’.
Effectiveness of land-based licensee age-verification controls - Test Purchase data
All licensees are required to have and put into effect policies and procedures designed to prevent underage gambling, and to monitor the effectiveness of those policies and procedures. One way of testing the effectiveness is by undertaking test purchase exercises using third parties to see if controls are working as intended.
The data below is taken from test purchases commissioned by a number of licensees to test their age-verification controls, and reported to us.
| Data definitions | April 2021 to March 2022 |
April 2021 to March 2022 |
April 2022 to March 2023 |
April 2022 to March 2023 |
April 2023 to March 2024 |
April 2023 to March 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By sector | Number of tests | Challenged at any stage (percentage) |
Number of tests | Challenged at any stage (percentage) |
Number of tests | Challenged at any stage (percentage) |
Betting | 13,981 | 94.1% | 12,089 | 95.3% | 11,078 | 94.3% | Adult Gaming Centre | 2,803 | 83.9% | 4,466 | 89.7% | 4,606 | 94.6% | Bingo | 598 | 82.4% | 1,093 | 81.9% | 1,278 | 88.2% | Casino | 102 | 98.0% | 248 | 97.2% | 189 | 98.9% | Family Entertainment Centre | 35 | 68.6% | 26 | 57.7% | 13 | 100.0% | Total interactions | 17,517 | 92.0% | 17,922 | 93.0% | 17,164 | 94.0% |