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Report

Young People and Gambling 2022: Official statistics

Gambling Commission report produced by Ipsos on young people and their gambling behaviour, attitudes and awareness in 2022.

Contents


Summary

This section of the report maps out gambling participation in the context of other risk-taking behaviours (such as smoking, drinking and drug-taking), and other activities that young people like to do in their spare time. It also highlights both the reasons why young people choose to gamble and why they do not. It also looks at who young people gamble with and any experiences of being stopped from gambling.

Summary

Across the last 12 months, half (50 percent) of 11 to 16 year olds had experienced some form of gambling. This is a higher proportion than those who participated in other risk-taking behaviours, such as drinking alcohol (41 percent), vaping (17 percent), smoking a cigarette (7 percent) or using illegal drugs (5 percent).

It is important to note the context for gambling. Most (74 percent) young people who have ever spent their own money on gambling were with their parents and/or guardians at the time and say they did so for fun (78 percent).

In contrast, a lack of interest in gambling (39 percent) is the most common reason for not gambling, followed by the recognition that it is illegal for young people to gamble (37 percent).

Next section
Setting gambling in the context of other risk-taking behaviours
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