Consultation response
Participation and prevalence research
From December 2020 to February 2021 we consulted on the proposals to change how we collect adult gambling participation and problem gambling prevalence statistics.
Summary
This section reviews active involvement in and experience with games and gaming machines in the last 12 months. Highlighting who young people are with, the most popular forms of gaming machine and experience of play in adults-only areas of venues such as holiday parks and arcades.
Summary
As shown throughout the report, arcade gaming machines, such as penny pushers or claw grab machines, are the most common type of gambling activity for young people. Over one in five (22 percent) 11 to 16 year olds spent their own money on playing arcade gaming machines in the last 12 months. A further 3 percent had spent their own money on playing fruit or slot machines, at an arcade, pub, or social club, over the same period.
To put this in context, half (50 percent) of 11 to 16 year olds have experienced gambling activities in the last 12 months, with over a third (35 percent) playing on arcade gaming machines.
Young people were typically with someone when they played on arcade gaming machines (89 percent) or fruit and slot machines (80 percent), rather than being alone (5 percent) and most (81 percent) had no experience of playing on arcade gaming machines in an adults-only area in an amusement arcade or holiday park, or somewhere with a sign or sticker saying '18 or over'.
Last updated: 9 November 2022
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