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Guidance

Regulatory returns guidance

Guidance for information collected in the Regulatory Returns service by licensing sector.

Published
4 May 2021

Last updated
13 November 2025 - Changes

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Contents

Key terms used in the report

We have 2 possible ways of interpreting gambling behaviour which are referenced throughout this report:

1. Active involvement in gambling – Young people who spent their own money (defined as any pocket money, birthday money or money they earned themselves) on gambling.

2. Experience of gambling – Young people who have gambled but not necessarily spending their own money on doing so. For example, they may have been involved in picking lottery numbers with family and/or friends or choosing horses in a horse race.

Regulated and unregulated forms of gambling – The Gambling Commission regulates gambling operators and key individuals in Great Britain. Regulation is designed to ensure children and young people, under the minimum legal age for gambling of 18, are unable to gamble on age restricted products licensed by the Commission. However, there are some types of gambling which are unregulated and fall outside of the remit of the Commission such as non-commercial gambling between friends and family or playing bingo somewhere other than a bingo club.

In addition to products licensed by the Commission, this report also covers these types of gambling activities which sit outside the Commission’s remit and are legally available to children and young people. To distinguish between these different types of gambling we refer in this report to ‘regulated’ and ‘unregulated’ forms of gambling:

Regulated forms of gambling – Those gambling activities which are licensed and regulated by the Commission including betting or casino gaming provided by a licensed operator online or from premises, playing the National Lottery or other lottery products. This categorisation also includes playing gaming machines in betting shops, bingo premises, casinos or arcades. Due to different categories and requirements relating to gaming machines this report will include some gaming machine play which is not directly regulated by the Commission and will include incidences of playing machines which can be legally played by children and young people.

Unregulated forms of gambling – Those gambling activities which fall outside the remit of the Commission such as non-commercial gambling between friends and family or playing bingo somewhere other than a bingo club.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition - Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) screen was applied to assess whether respondents who gamble are defined as experiencing problems with their gambling. Scores are then grouped into the following categories:

  • young people who have never gambled
  • young people scoring 0 or 1 on the DSM-IV-MR-J, representing a young person who does not experience any ‘problems’ with their gambling
  • young people scoring 2 or 3 on the DSM-IV-MR-J, representing a young person who is ‘at risk’
  • young people scoring 4 or more on the DSM-IV-MR-J, representing a young person experiencing ‘problems’ with their gambling.

Gaming – Although the Commission does not regulate gaming, there has been a convergence of gaming and gambling over time, with games now including features which are akin to gambling. These include outcomes or rewards in online gaming, such as loot boxes and monetised in-game items, including skins. This survey explores young people’s awareness and engagement with gaming activities to provide insight into the link between gaming and gambling.

For further information on terms used throughout this report and their definitions see the Appendices.

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