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Levels of problem gambling in England

We commission a chapter on gambling in the Health Survey for England which is published by NHS Digital (formerly the NHS Information Centre).

Gambling behaviour is increasingly a subject of public health and policy interest. This is an important annual survey looking at changes in the health and lifestyles of people all over the country.

Around 8,000 adults take part in the survey each year.

The findings of the health survey are based on a set of specific questions and interviews which are conducted face to face in the homes of respondents. The gambling questions are asked via a short paper self-completion questionnaire administered alongside the core health survey questionnaire. 

Headline findings from the Health survey England 2016

56%

of people in England gambled in 2016

42%

of people in England (excluding those who had only played National Lottery draws) gambled in 2016

0.7%

of people in England identified as problem gamblers

1.2%

of gamblers in England identified as problem gamblers

3.6%

of people in England were at low or moderate risk of developing problems with their gambling

6.6%

of gamblers in England are at low or moderate risk of developing problems with their gambling

Read the combined report for 2016 containing results from the Health survey for England, the Scottish health survey and the Welsh problem gambling survey.

Also see

Also see

Important reading

About the status of official statistics

About the status of official statistics

Research library

Research library of publications from the last three years

Developing a Short Form of the PGSI

Provides advice on the feasibility and suitability of a three‐item measure for use in tracking the prevalence of problem gambling in the general population