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Report

Young People and Gambling 2023: Official statistics

Gambling Commission report produced by Ipsos on young people and their gambling behaviour, attitudes and awareness in 2023.

Published
16 November 2023

Last updated
16 November 2023 - Changes

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Contents

Buying a National Lottery draw ticket or scratchcard

To set these findings in context, young people who have ever experienced play on a National Lottery draw based game or scratchcard, were asked how the purchase was made. It’s important to note that the number of young people who self-reported experience of National Lottery draw based games is small (base size of 116), so the figures should be interpreted with caution. However, the data indicates that for both draw based and scratchcard games, in the vast majority of cases someone else made the purchase for young people.

Almost all (96 percent) young people who had played National Lottery scratchcards said that someone else purchased the scratchcard for them.

In 2023 only 3 percent said that they purchased the scratchcard themselves. Similarly, 83 percent of young people who bought a ticket for a National Lottery draw based game said that someone else made the purchase for them.

However, 8 percent said that they had made the purchase themselves suggesting that a significant minority of young people were allowed to buy a ticket underage.

Figure 16: How National Lottery draw games and scratchcards were purchased

A bar chart showing how young people purchased National Lottery draw games and scratchcards, from 'Someone else purchased the ticket for me in a shop' to 'I purchased the ticket by myself in a shop'. For each mode of purchase there are two bars. One bar represents those young people who purchased National Lottery draws, the other bar represents those young people that purchased National Lottery scratchcards. Data from the chart is provided within the following table.

Figure 16 information

GC_HANDED1. Thinking about the last time you played National Lottery draw or scratchcard which statement best describes how you purchased and paid for the item?
Base: All 11 to 17 year olds answering who have played National Lottery (116). All participants answering who have played National Lottery scratchcards (260).

How National Lottery draw games were purchased

Figure 16: How National Lottery draw games and scratchcards were purchased.
How National Lottery draw game tickets were purchased Percentage
Someone else purchased the ticket for me in a shop 83%
The ticket was not purchased in a shop 9%
I purchased the ticket by myself in a shop 8%

How National Lottery scratchcards were purchased

Figure 16: How National Lottery draw games and scratchcards were purchased.
How National Lottery scratchcards were purchased Percentage
Someone else purchased the scratchcard for me in a shop 96%
The scratchcard was not purchased in a shop 1%
I purchased the scratchcard by myself in a shop 3%
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Wider experience of lottery games Next section
Who young people are with when playing a National Lottery product
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