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SO1 Protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed by gambling

Underage gambling participation

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.

This study was impacted by school closures in Great Britain (GB) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have now resumed this study with improvements, including:

  • a change to the definitions we use
  • the timescale we ask about
  • making a distinction between unregulated and regulated forms of gambling.

This means that data from 2022 onwards is not directly comparable with data from previous years.

11 to 16 year olds participation rates - 2022 report

11 to 16 year olds participation rates - 2022 report.
Data definitions Year to December 2022 (percentage)
Percentage of 11 to 16 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 1.9%
Percentage of 11 to 16 year olds in GB actively involved (that is spent their own money) on age restricted regulated forms of gambling in the last 12 months 7.0%

Notes

This data was collected as part of the Young People and Gambling Report 2022. It is a subset of the broader category used in the published report of ‘Any gambling – Regulated forms of gambling’.


11 to 16 year olds participation rates - 2021 report

Data is not available for 2021 as the survey did not take place due to further school closures.

11 to 16 year olds participation rates - 2020 report

The 2020 study was severely impacted by the closure of schools in GB in March 2020. Data for 2020 is based on England and Scotland only.

11 to 16 year olds participation rates - 2020 report.
Data definitions Year to December 2019 (percentage) Year to December 2020 (percentage) Year to December 2021 (percentage)
Percentage of 11 to 16 year olds in Great Britain (GB) participating in gambling in the last 7 days. This includes both regulated and unregulated forms of gambling. 11% 9%† Not available

Notes

† Denotes data for 2020 is based on England and Scotland only.

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