Young People and Gambling 2022

Executive summary

Introduction

This report contains the findings from the Gambling Commission’s annual study, produced by Ipsos, exploring gambling behaviours among young people in Great Britain.

The survey examined gambling experience and behaviours, such as where young people gamble and with whom, perceptions of gambling and awareness of gambling advertising. The survey also asked a series of questions relating to potential issues associated with gambling and utilised the problem gambling screen Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition - Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) to classify gamblers as at risk or problem gamblers.

Since the last survey took place in 2020, the Commission has conducted a programme of research to improve the collection of official statistics around gambling participation.

The research was conducted in schools, with pupils completing online self-completion surveys in class. The study collected data from a sample of 2,559 11 to 16 year olds attending academies and maintained schools in England, Scotland, and Wales. Fieldwork took place between 14 March to 1 July 2022. Further details of the methodology, sampling and weighting processes, and sample profile are included in the Appendices of this report.

Headline statistics

Presentation and interpretation of data

Previously the survey drew on trend data to illustrate how gambling behaviours and attitudes change over time. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting closure of schools, caused a break in the collection of trend data. With this enforced hiatus in fieldwork, the decision was taken to conduct exploratory work with young people to understand levels of comprehension of the current Young People and Gambling Survey and to refine a suitable set of questions for use in the future surveys, thus improving the quality of official statistics around gambling participation amongst children and young people. The questions used in this survey reflect that development work, and as such this report can be viewed as a benchmark against which future waves of the research can be measured.

When interpreting the findings, it is important to remember that results are based on a sample of the maintained school population, and not the entire population of 11 to 16 year olds in England, Scotland, and Wales. The survey data reported here has been weighted to ensure the findings are nationally representative of young people at secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales (see the Research design section within the Appendices for more detail on weighting).

Applying weights to the data, while tending to make the quoted figures more representative of the population of interest, also reduces the statistical reliability of the data. Results from any survey are estimates, and there is a margin of error associated with each figure quoted. Essentially, the smaller the sample size, the greater the uncertainty.

Throughout this report, unless specified, findings with sufficient sample sizes have been included and all differences noted between subgroups are significant at the 95 percent significance level. A guide to statistical significance is included in the Research design section within the Appendices of the report.

Key terms used in the report

Prior to 2022, young people were asked one question to find out whether they had used their own money to gamble and when they had done so. The development work to improve what we knew about young people and gambling that took place in 2021 and ahead of the current survey, noted that it was cognitively challenging for 11 to 16 year olds to remember the types of gambling activities they had participated in whilst keeping in mind if, and when, they had spent their own money on these activities.

Taking on board recommendations relating to the questionnaire design, meant that a different approach was adopted for this year, with three questions included in order to understand, firstly, whether a young person had any experience of gambling, secondly, if they had ever gambled using their own money and thirdly, when they did so. As a result we have two possible ways of interpreting gambling behaviour which are referenced throughout this report.

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.

Experience of gambling

Young people who have gambled, but not necessarily spending their own money on doing so.

Forms of gambling and remit

The Gambling Commission regulates gambling operators and key individuals. Regulation is designed to ensure children and young people are unable to gamble on age-restricted products licensed by the Commission. In addition to products licensed by the Commission, this report also covers a number of gambling activities which sit outside the Commission’s remit and are legally available to children and young people. In order 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 of gaming machines in betting shops, bingo premises, casinos or arcades. Due to different categories and requirements relating to gaming machines this report may include some gaming machine play which is not directly regulated by the Commission and in some incidences 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.

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

Acknowledgements

The Gambling Commission and Ipsos are indebted to all pupils and staff who made this survey possible during a time when schools continued to work under pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, without their support this survey would not have been possible.

Young people’s active involvement in gambling

Summary

This first section of the report examines young people’s active involvement in gambling, which is self-reported experience of spending their own money on gambling over the last 12 months.

Young people's active involvement in gambling

Three in ten (31 percent) 11 to 16 year-olds spent their own money (for example pocket money, birthday money or money they earned themselves) on gambling activities in the 12 months prior to taking part in the survey.

Young people were most likely to have spent their own money on arcade games such as penny pusher or claw grab machines (22 percent) or bet for money between friends or family (15 percent), than other gambling activities, as shown as follows in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Young people’s active involvement in gambling – top ten gambling activities young people spent their own money on

Figure 1 information

GAMSPEND4. And when did you last spend money on this activity and/or these activities? Was it …?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,559).
Note: Responses in the table and chart do not add up to 100 percent, as the figures shown are for the overall figure and for the top ten gambling activities only.

Figure 1: Young people’s active involvement in gambling – top ten gambling activities young people spent their own money on

Top ten gambling activities young people spent their own money on	Percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Spent money on any gambling activity in last 12 months	31%
Played arcade gaming machines	22%
Placed a bet for money between friends or family	15%
Played cards for money	5%
Played fruit or slot machines	3%
Played bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club	2%
Placed a bet on esports	2%
National Lottery Scratchcards	1%
Placed a bet on a betting website and/or app	1%
Played casino games online	1%
National Lottery online instant win games	1%

Young people were more likely to spend their own money on regulated forms of gambling (23 percent), than unregulated forms of gambling (18 percent) in the last 12 months. The figure for regulated forms of gambling includes machines in premises that are not regulated by the Gambling Commission but have a permit from the local council, while the unregulated figure includes bingo play in premises where bingo is licensed, requires permits and where no permission is required (for further information on terms used throughout this report and their definitions see the Definitions section.).

Variations in active involvement in gambling

The proportion of young people who actively spent their own money (for example pocket money, birthday money or money they earned themselves) on gambling activities in the last 12 months is consistent by age and gender.

Those who define their ethnicity as white were more likely than young people from black or ethnic minority backgrounds to have spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months (34 percent compared with 23 percent). However, this finding could have been driven by the fact that active involvement in gambling was notably higher among young people who had seen their family members gamble, who in turn are more likely to come from white ethnic background (47 percent compared with 22 percent of those who had no experience of their family gambling).

Variations in active involvement in types of gambling activities

There were some differences by gender and age in the types of gambling activities that young people chose to spend their own money on in the last 12 months:

• girls were more likely than boys to spend their own money on arcade games such as penny pusher or claw grab machines (24 percent compared with 20 percent)
• boys were more likely, than girls, to use their own money to place a bet on esports (3 percent compared with less than one percent).

Older age groups (14 to 16 year olds) were more likely to have spent money on unregulated forms of gambling in the last 12 months (20 percent compared with 17 percent of 13 year olds), notably playing cards for money with friends or family (6 percent of 14 to 16 year olds compared with 4 percent of 12 year olds). It is worth bearing in mind that this may simply reflect the likelihood that young people in the older age groups were more likely to have access to their own money.

As already noted, young people who had seen family members gamble were more likely to have spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months, than those who had not seen a family member gamble. This holds true for both regulated (36 percent compared with 16 percent) and unregulated forms of gambling (31 percent compared with 12 percent). This difference is highlighted in scenarios where family members would be present such as placing a bet for money between family and friends (25 percent compared with 10 percent) or playing arcade gaming machines (33 percent compared with 16 percent). As shown in the section on Games and Gaming machines, when playing arcade gaming machines, the majority (89 percent) of young people were with someone, typically a parent or guardian (57 percent).

Prevalence of non-problem, at risk or problem gambling

The survey identified 0.9 percent of 11 to 16 year olds as problem gamblers, 2.4 percent as at risk gamblers and 27.3 percent as non-problem gamblers. However, seven in ten (68.9 percent) young people did not actively gamble in the last 12 months. All data is based on self-reported active involvement in gambling in the last 12 months.

These categories are defined by the problem gambling screen Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition - Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) devised by Fisher in 2000. It is important to bear in mind that this is a youth-adapted problem gambler screen, which takes account of adolescent behaviour such as spending dinner money on gambling or arguing with friends. It is not comparable with adult problem gambling screens, which include measures such as the impact of gambling on household finances. Information on how the screen is applied for this survey can be found in the Applying the DSM-IV-MR-J problem gambler screen section within the Appendices.

Figure 2: Types of gambler defined by the youth-adapted problem gambling screen – prevalence of non-problem, at risk or problem gambling

Figure 2 information

Chart shows types of gamblers as defined by the DSM-IV-MR-J youth-adapted problem gambling screen.
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,559).
Note: The chart does not show the 1 percent of gamblers who did not provide a response at any question in the gambling screen.

Figure 2: Types of gambler defined by the youth-adapted problem gambling screen – prevalence of non-problem, at risk or problem gambling

Category	Percentage
Non-gambler	68.9%
Non-problem gambler	27.3%
At risk gambler	2.4%
Problem gambler	0.9%

As noted in the Executive Summary section, development work that fed into the design of the 2022 questionnaire changed the way in which data was gathered on young people who spent their own money on gambling activities in the last 12 months (and were therefore eligible to answer the problem gambler screen). In the 2022 questionnaire, we have replaced one question with three questions to make it clearer and easier to understand. These changes were made in order to record young people’s active involvement in gambling more accurately. However, the implications of doing this are that the figures for problem gambling are not comparable to previous years.

Problem gambling by gender

Boys are more likely to be classified as at risk gamblers (3.2 percent) than girls (1.8 percent). However, analysis of the 2022 dataset does not identify variations by gender in those defined as problem gamblers.

Table 1: Types of gamblers by gender (last 12 months)

Table 1: Types of gamblers by gender (last 12 months)

Gender	Total	Non-gambler		Non-problem gambler		At risk gambler		Problem gambler
	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size
Boys	1,238	69.4%	845	26.4%	321	3.2%	39	0.7%	8
Girls	1,167	67.5%	801	29.3%	347	1.8%	21	0.9%	10

The numbers of individuals who fall into the categories of ‘at risk gamblers’ and ‘problem gamblers’ are low (below our threshold for analysis of 50 or more cases). As such these results should be treated with caution.

Problem gambling by age

The proportion of young people identified as problem or at risk gamblers remains consistent across the age groups.

Table 2: Types of gamblers by age (last 12 months)

Table 2: Types of gamblers by age (last 12 months)

Age	Total	Non-gambler		Non-problem gambler		At risk gambler		Problem gambler
	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size
11 to 13 years old	1,225	69.2%	815	26.8%	316	2.6%	31	0.7%	9
14 to 16 years old	1,334	68.6%	947	27.6%	382	2.2%	31	1.0%	14

The numbers of individuals who fall into the categories of ‘at risk gamblers’ and ‘problem gamblers’ are low (below our threshold for analysis of 50 or more cases). As such these results should be treated with caution.

Problem gambling by ethnicity

Overall, young people who define themselves as white were more likely to be identified as non-problem gamblers, using the problem gambling screen, than those who are from a black or minority ethnic group (30.7 percent compared with 17.7 percent). There are no statistically significant differences by ethnicity in regard to at risk or problem gamblers.

Table 3: Types of gamblers by ethnicity (last 12 months)

Table 3: Types of gamblers by ethnicity (last 12 months)

Ethnicity	Total	Non-gambler		Non-problem gambler		At risk gambler		Problem gambler
	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size	Percentage	Base size
White	1,923	65.9%	1,225	30.7%	571	2.0%	37	0.7%	14
Black and/or other minority ethnic	589	77.4%	506	17.7%	116	3.2%	21	1.3%	8

The numbers of individuals who fall into the categories of ‘at risk gamblers’ and ‘problem gamblers’ are low (below our threshold for analysis of 50 or more cases). As such these results should be treated with caution.

Experience of gambling

Summary

To set the findings in context, this report also provides information on young people’s wider experience of gambling, which is taking part in gambling but not necessarily with their own money.

Overall gambling experience

In total, 60 percent of all 11 to 16 year olds have some experience of gambling, fewer (50 percent) have gambled in the last 12 months. Figure 3 as follows shows that, as reported in the previous section, 31 percent of young people were actively involved with gambling - using their own money to gamble - in the last 12 months, 18 percent in the last 4 weeks and 7 percent in the last seven days.

Figure 3: Wider experience and active involvement in gambling

Figure 3 information

Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,559).
Note: The chart shows results for different questions asked in the survey, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 3: Wider experience and active involvement in gambling

Category	Percentage (results from different survey questions, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Ever gambled	60%
Gambled in last 12 months	50%
Spent money on gambling in last 12 months	31%
Spent money on gambling in last 4 weeks	18%
Spent money on gambling in last 7 days	7%

Overall gambling experience in the last 12 months

Focusing on experience of gambling over the last 12 months, the most popular activity was arcade gaming machines (for example penny pusher or claw grab machine), mentioned by 35 percent of young people. One in five (21 percent) placed a bet for money between friends or family during the same period and around one in ten played cards for money (9 percent), bought a National Lottery scratchcard (8 percent) or played bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club, for example at a social club or holiday park (8 percent).

Young people were more likely to experience regulated forms of gambling (38 percent), than unregulated forms of gambling (30 percent) largely due to the high proportion who reported playing arcade gaming machines.

Figure 4 as follows illustrates the proportion of young people who have experience of gambling over the last 12 months, listing the ten most common types of activity, and the variations between experience and active involvement (the activities young people spent their own money on).

Notable differences are in arcade gaming machines play, with over a third (35 percent) of young people reporting experience of this in the last 12 months, but just 22 percent spent their own money on this activity. Similarly experience of playing National Lottery scratchcards is far higher (8 percent) than active involvement; only 1 percent reported spending their own money. There is also a gap in experience of playing bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club (8 percent), compared with spending their own money on this activity (2 percent), suggesting that young people tend to play bingo for fun, rather than for money.

Figure 4: Activities that are tried versus those that money is spent on – top ten activities experienced in the last 12 months, compared with active involvement

Figure 4 information

GAMSPENDWHEN. When did you last do this activity and/or these activities? Was it in the last 12 months? GAMSPEND4. And when did you last spend money on this activity and/or these activities? In the last 12 months. Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,559).
Note: Responses in the table and chart do not add up to 100 percent, as the figures shown are for the top ten gambling activities only.

Figure 4: Activities that are tried versus those that money is spent on – top ten activities experienced in the last 12 months, compared with active involvement

Activity	Percentage that have experienced the activity (answers do not sum to 100 percent as only the top ten responses shown)	Percentage that have had active involvement (answers do not sum to 100 percent as only the top ten responses shown)
Played arcade gaming machines	35%	22%
Placed a bet for money between friends or family	21%	15%
Played cards for money	9%	5%
Played bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club	8%	2%
National Lottery Scratchcards	8%	1%
Played fruit or slot machines	6%	3%
Placed a bet on esports	3%	2%
Placed a bet on a betting website and/or app	3%	1%
National Lottery draw	3%	1%
Played casino games online	2%	1%

Variations in gambling experience

The overall proportion of young people who experienced gambling in the last 12 months is consistent by age and gender. However, following the pattern for active involvement in gambling, those who had seen their family members gamble (67 percent), were more likely to have experience of gambling in the last 12 months compared with those who had not (42 percent).

Looking at the different gambling activities, girls were more likely to report experience of:

• arcade games such as penny pusher or claw grab machines (37 percent of girls compared with 32 percent of boys)
• bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club (10 percent of girls compared with 7 percent of boys).

While boys were more likely to have experienced online gambling activities such as:

• placing a bet on esports (5 percent of boys compared with 1 percent of girls)
• playing casino games online (3 percent of boys compared with 1 percent of girls).

Boys' experience of online gambling reflects findings shared in the report which highlight that they were more likely to play games on their phone, iPad, laptop or on a console in their spare time than girls (57 percent compared to 12 percent) and were more aware of aspects of online gaming, such as paying for or betting with in-game items.

By age, older groups were more likely to have experienced National Lottery scratchcard play in the last 12 months than younger age groups (9 percent of 14 to 16 year olds compared with 7 percent of 11 to 13 year olds), and played cards for money with friends or family (10 percent of 14 to 16 year olds compared with 7 percent of 11 to 13 year olds). In contrast 11 to 13 year olds were more likely to play bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club (10 percent of 11 to 13 year olds compared with 7 percent of 14 to 16 year olds).

Those who had seen family members gamble were more likely to have experienced most forms of gambling activities in the last 12 months than young people who had not seen their family gamble. This mirrors active involvement in gambling in the last 12 months; with the differences most notable for activities where family members would be present such as placing a bet with friends or family (31 percent compared with 15 percent of those who had not seen family members gamble).

Differences by ethnicity are only notable in the higher rates of experience of arcade gaming machines: 38 percent of white 11 to 16 year olds compared with 26 percent of young people from black and ethnic minority groups.

The Impact of gambling on young people

Summary

This section of the report examines the impacts experienced by young people as a result of their own or someone else’s gambling. This is the first time the data has been collected following a pilot study on gambling-related harms among young people in 2019 (opens in new tab). We will continue to develop our use of this data to build a fuller understanding of the impact of gambling on young people, particularly the extent and severity of gambling-related harms that they may experience. This development work will include analysing the data for young people defined as at risk and problem gamblers, which has been excluded from the current report due to the low base sizes.

How gambling impacts on relations with friends and family

Young people who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months were asked how gambling had impacted on their relationship with their friends and family. Throughout this section a combination figure for ‘sometimes’, ‘often’, or ‘all of the time’ has been used to the report the impact that gambling can have, unless specified otherwise.

One in ten young people (10 percent) said that their own gambling had led them to talk to their parents about how they felt. Of these, 5 percent said it had happened all of the time.

Just over one in twenty (7 percent) 11 to 16 year olds who were actively involved with gambling in the last 12 months stated that gambling had made them uncomfortable around their friends. Of these, just 2 percent felt uncomfortable all the time.

Figure 5: The impact that young people’s gambling has on family and friends

Figure 5 information

GA_GAMLEDTLK GA_GAMLEDCOM. Thinking about the last 12 months, how often, if at all, has your own gambling led you to...
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months 'Talk to your parents about how you feel' (700). 'Not feel comfortable around your friends' (701).
Note: Where percentages for a question do not add up to 100 percent, this is due to computer rounding.

Figure 5: The impact that young people’s gambling has on family and friends

Impact	Percentage who never	Percentage who rarely	Percentage who sometimes	Percentage who often	Percentage who all the time	Percentage who don't know
Not feel comfortable around friends	80%	4%	3%	1%	2%	9%
Talk to your parents about how you feel	75%	4%	2%	3%	5%	10%

How gambling makes young people feel

Young people who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months were asked how it affected their happiness, and whether it ever made them feel sad or guilty.

For the majority, their experience of gambling does not lead to feelings of guilt or sadness; only 3 percent agreed with the statement ‘I feel sad when I gamble’ and only 5 percent agreed with the statement ‘I feel guilty when I gamble’. They are less clear on whether gambling makes them feel happy; one in five (21 percent) agree, but three in ten (29 percent) disagree and the same proportion (29 percent) are unsure either way.

Figure 6: How gambling makes young people feel

Figure 6 information

GC_EXPHAP GC_EXPGUIL GC_EXPSAD. Thinking about your experiences of gambling, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months 'I feel happy when I gamble' (690). 'I feel guilty when I gamble' (692). 'I feel sad when I gamble' (692).
Note: Where percentages for a question do not add up to 100 percent, this is due to computer rounding.

Figure 6: How gambling makes young people feel

Statement	Percentage who strongly agree	Percentage who agree	Percentage who neither agree nor disagree	Percentage who disagree	Percentage who strongly disagree	Percentage who don't know
I feel sad when I gamble	2%	1%	15%	28%	33%	20%
I feel guilty when I gamble	3%	2%	18%	26%	32%	20%
I feel happy when I gamble	3%	18%	29%	13%	15%	22%

Young people from black and ethnic minority groups were more likely than young people from white ethnic groups to agree that their active involvement in gambling makes them feel sad (7 percent compared with 2 percent) and guilty (9 percent compared with 4 percent).

The impact of gambling on sleep

The majority of young people (61 percent) report experiencing a loss of sleep due to worrying about something over the past year (not including gambling). However, a minority of young people who were actively involved in gambling had lost sleep at night because gambling meant that they went to bed late (2 percent) or because they were worrying about their own gambling (2 percent) either all of the time, often or sometimes.

The survey results indicate that 3 percent of 11 to 16 year olds who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months lost sleep because they were worried about a family member or someone that is responsible for them gambling.

There were no statistical differences by gender and age.

Figure 7: The impact of gambling on sleep

Figure 7 information

GC_SLEEPLATE GC_SLEEPWRYGAM GC_SLEEPWRYELSE GC_SLEEPFAMGAM. Over the past year, how often, if at all, have you lost sleep at night because…
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering, 'You have been worrying about the gambling of a family member or someone who is responsible for looking after you' (2209).
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months answering, 'You have been worrying about your own gambling' (737).
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months answering, 'You went to bed late because you were gambling' (738 ).
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering, 'You have been worrying about something and/or something else' (2348).
Note: Where an asterisk is displayed on a chart or in a table, this means the value for that response is greater than zero, but less than 0.5 percent.
Note: Where percentages for a question do not add up to 100 percent, this is due to computer rounding.

Figure 7: The impact of gambling on sleep

Impact	Percentage who never	Percentage who rarely	Percentage who sometimes	Percentage who often	Percentage who all the time	Percentage who don't know
You have been worrying about the gambling of a family member or someone who is responsible for looking after you	89%	4%	1%	1%	1%	4%
You have been worrying about your own gambling	95%	2%	1%	0%	0%	1%
You went to bed late because you were gambling	94%	3%	0%	1%	1%	1%
You have been worrying about something (something else)	17%	18%	26%	20%	15%	3%

The impact of gambling on spending

Young people who actively gambled in the last 12 months were asked if their own gambling had stopped them buying things that they wanted or, conversely, helped them to buy things that they needed.

Reflecting the perceived impact on households of family members gambling, as discussed in the next section, young people were most likely to highlight that gambling had helped them to buy things that they needed either all of the time, often or sometimes (12 percent). They were less likely to say that their own gambling stopped them from buying things that they wanted (5 percent).

There were no statistical differences by age or gender.

Figure 8: The impact of gambling on spending

Figure 8 information

GC_GAMBSTBUY GC_GAMBHPBUY. Thinking about the last 12 months, how often, if at all, has your own gambling led to any of the following things?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months: “Stopped you from buying things you have wanted” (721), 'Helped you buy things you have needed' (720), 'Made it hard for you to put effort into your school work, homework or personal study' (722).
Note: Where percentages for a question do not add up to 100 percent, this is due to computer rounding.

Figure 8: The impact of gambling on spending

Impact	Percentage who never	Percentage who rarely	Percentage who sometimes	Percentage who often	Percentage who all the time	Percentage who don't know
Helped you buy things you have needed	76%	7%	6%	4%	2%	4%
Stopped you from buying things you have wanted	88%	4%	2%	1%	1%	3%

The impact of gambling on schoolwork

The survey also explored the potential impact of gambling on schoolwork, homework or personal studies. Less than one in twenty young people who were actively involved in gambling felt that it made it hard for them to put effort into their work or study either sometimes, often or all of the time (3 percent).

There were no statistical differences by age or gender.

Figure 9: The impact of gambling on schoolwork

Figure 9 information

GC_HARDEFF. Thinking about the last 12 months, how often, if at all, has your own gambling led to any of the following things? Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months 'Made it hard for you to put effort into your school work, homework or personal study' (722).

Figure 9: The impact of gambling on schoolwork

Impact	Percentage who never	Percentage who rarely	Percentage who sometimes	Percentage who often	Percentage who all the time	Percentage who don't know
Made it hard for you to put effort into your school work, homework or personal study	93%	1%	1%	1%	1%	3%

Experience and impact of family members’ gambling

A significant proportion of 11 to 16 year olds (28 percent) have seen family members they live with gamble. However, three in five (60 percent) have not.

There were no statistical differences between age groups and gender.

Figure 10: Experience of ever seeing family members gambling

Figure 10 information

GC_FAMGAM. Have you ever seen any of the family members that you live with gambling? When we talk about gambling, we mean any activity which involves risking money (or something of value) in a game or a bet in the hope of winning money or a prize.
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,336).
Note: Where percentages for a question do not add up to 100 percent, this is due to computer rounding.

Figure 10: Experience of ever seeing family members gambling

Response	Percentage
Yes	28%
No	60%
Don't know	11%

Young people who had ever seen family members gamble were asked if this had affected specific aspects of their lives either sometimes, often, all of the time or never. Again, a combination figure for ‘sometimes’, ‘often’, or ‘all of the time’ has been used to the report the impact that gambling can have, unless specified otherwise.

The most common impact of gambling by a family member, as shown as follows in Figure 11, was that it helped to pay for other things or activities, for example holidays, trips or clubs; one in ten (11 percent) said that this happened either sometimes, often, or all of the time.

Family members gambling impacted less on parents and/or guardians having time to spend with young people (6 percent) or the availability of food at home or money on school canteen card and/or account (mentioned by 3 percent). However, 7 percent of young people felt that it had resulted in more arguments or tension at home.

Figure 11: The impact that family members’ gambling can have on young people

Figure 11 information

GC_FAMGAMFOOD GC_FAMGAMPAY GC_FAMLEDTME GC_FAMLEDARG. Thinking about the last 12 months, how often, if at all, has your family’s gambling led to any of the following things?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have seen family members live with gamble: 'Stopped you from having enough food (food at home or money on school canteen card/ account)' (652). 'Helped your family to pay for other things or activities e.g. holidays, trips, clubs' (651). 'Your parents or guardians having less time to spend with you' (651). 'More arguments or tension at home' (652).
Note: Where an asterisk is displayed on a chart or in a table, this means the value for that response is greater than zero, but less than 0.5 percent.
Note: Where percentages for a question do not add up to 100 percent, this is due to computer rounding.

Figure 11: The impact that family members’ gambling can have on young people

Impact	Percentage who never	Percentage who rarely	Percentage who sometimes	Percentage who often	Percentage who all the time	Percentage who don't know	Percentage who are not applicable
More arguments or tension at home	82%	5%	2%	3%	2%	3%	3%
Your parents or guardians having less time to spend with you	85%	4%	3%	2%	2%	2%	3%
Helped your family pay for other things or activities	68%	12%	7%	2%	2%	6%	3%
Stopped you from having enough food (food at home or money on school canteen card and/or account)	90%	2%	1%	0%	1%	2%	3%

Young people who had seen family members they live with gamble were then asked how it had affected them personally. Around one in twenty said that it had made them feel worried (7 percent) or sad (5 percent) either all of the time, some of the time or often. Of these, one percent felt worried or sad all of the time by family members or people they live with gambling. However, for the most part they stated that this never happened.

Figure 12: The impact that family members’ gambling can have on young people’s emotions

Figure 12 information

GC_NEWFELTBADFAMSAD GC_NEWFELTBADFAMWOR. In the past 12 months how often, if at all, would you say that gambling among your family members and/or people you live with has made you feel…
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have seen family members live with gamble 'Sad' (640). 'Worried' (639).

Figure 12: The impact that family members’ gambling can have on young people’s emotions

Impact	Percentage who never	Percentage who rarely	Percentage who sometimes	Percentage who often	Percentage who all the time	Percentage who don't know
Worried	84%	6%	3%	3%	1%	3%
Sad	87%	5%	2%	2%	1%	3%

Online gambling

Summary

This section focuses on online gambling, examining in more detail active involvement and experience over the last 12 months, as well as awareness of evolving forms of online gambling such as eSports and in-game items.

Young people’s active involvement in online gambling

Young people were asked if they had spent their own money on online gambling in the last 12 months. Overall the proportions are very small with just 2 percent spending their own money on eSports (eSports definition provided in the Definitions section of this report), 1 percent spending their own money on National Lottery online instant win games, betting on a website or apps, or casino games online and less than 1 percent spending money on online bingo.

The data shows small but significant differences by gender in spend over the last 12 months on online gambling:

• betting on eSports (3 percent of boys spending their own money compared with less than 1 percent of girls)
• betting on a website or an app (2 percent of boys compared with less than 1 percent of girls)
• playing casino games online (2 percent of boys compared with 1 percent of girls).

Overall experience of online gambling

A minority of young people have experienced some form of online gambling in the last 12 months.

Less than one in twenty 11 to 16 year olds had placed a bet on eSports or on a website or an app in the last 12 months (both 3 percent), while fewer still had played casino games online (2 percent). As few as 1 percent of young people had played National Lottery online instant win games or bingo online in the last 12 months.

Online gambling using parent's or guardian's accounts

To understand the context in which young people are accessing online gambling, they were asked if they had ever used their parent's and/or guardian's accounts to play online, with or without their permission.

Overall, 11 to 16 year olds were more likely to use their parent's and/or guardian's accounts with their permission (6 percent), rather than without (1 percent). Looking at this in more detail, young people were more likely to have ever played National Lottery games online with their permission (5 percent), than without (1 percent). Similarly, young people who played on gambling websites or placed bets online had their parent's or guardian's permission (5 percent) compared with without (1 percent).

Figure 13: Online gambling using a parent's or guardian’s account - Whether young people gambled online with their parent's or guardian's permission or not

Figure 13 information

PLAYONLINE. Please read all of the following sentences and select those that are true about you. Here ‘online’ refers to websites and apps.
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,295).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 13: Online gambling using a parent's or guardian’s account - Whether young people gambled online with their parent's or guardian's permission or not.

Online gambling behaviour	Percentage who find this sentence true (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Used parent's and/or guardian's account to play National Lottery games online with their permission	5%
Used parent's and/or guardian's account to play on gambling websites or place bets online with their permission	5%
Used parent's and/or guardian's account to play National Lottery games online without their permission	1%
Used parent's and/or guardian's account to play on gambling websites or place bets online without their permission	1%
None of these sentences are true about me	93%

Awareness and use of in-game items in video games

Skins are one example of in-game items which can be won or bought within a video game to change the appearance of a character, avatar or weapon. On some websites, separate to the game itself, players can trade, bet on and sell their skins in exchange for cash. This is called skins gambling.

One commonly used method for players to acquire in-game items is through in-game payments to open loot boxes which contain an unknown quantity and value of in-game items. The use of features which include expenditure and chance has led to concern that loot boxes are akin to gambling.

The Gambling Commission’s view on skins gambling, loot boxes and related issues is as set out in the position paper published in March 2017 entitled 'Virtual currencies, eSports and social casino gaming – position paper' (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

Two in five (43 percent) young people were aware of, and had used, in-game items. 39 percent had paid for in-game items or mods (for example skins, clothes, weapons, players) either with money or virtual currency, and a quarter (24 percent) had paid to open loot boxes and/or packs and/or chests to get in-game items (for example skins, clothes, weapons, players).

As shown as follows in Figure 14, the more akin to gambling the use of in-game items gets the lower the levels of awareness and usage are, with only 2 percent of young people having personally bet with in-game items.

Overall, a further third (32 percent) were aware of in-game items but had never used them and 23 percent had never heard of them.

Figure 14: Awareness and use of in-game items

Figure 14 information

INGAMEAWARE. The following list shows some different things that it is possible to do with in-game items. Which, if any, of these have you heard about before today?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,299).
INGAMEUSED. Which, if any, of the following have you personally done?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who were aware of in-game items (1,424).
Note: This shows responses to two separate questions, with exclusions of Don’t know and Not stated response, so the total will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 14: Awareness and use of in-game items.

Question statement	Percentage who are aware of and have done this (results from two separate survey questions, therefore do not sum to 100 percent)	Percentage who are aware of but have never done this (results from two separate survey questions, therefore do not sum to 100 percent)	Percentage who are not aware of this (results from two separate survey questions, therefore do not sum to 100 percent)
Paying for in-game items or mods (for example skins, clothes, weapons, players) either with money or virtual currency	39%	15%	32%
Paying to open loot boxes and/or packs and/or chests to get in-game items (for example skins, clothes, weapons, players) either with money or virtual currency	24%	21%	43%
Betting with in-game items on websites outside of the game you are playing	2%	14%	80%

Boys were more likely to be aware of and used in-game items than girls, reflecting the fact that they are more likely to play video games and gamble online. Boys were more likely to:

• have paid for in-game items or mods either with money or virtual currency than girls (52 percent compared with 24 percent)
• have paid to open loot boxes and/or packs and/or chests to get in-game items than girls (37 percent compared with 11 percent)
• have a bet with in-game items on websites outside of the game they are playing than girls (3 percent compared with 1 percent).

In terms of frequency, of those who had paid for in-game items or mods just under three in four (73 percent) did so in the last 12 months, with boys more likely to do so than girls (78 percent of boys paid for in-game items or mods compared with 64 percent of girls in the last 12 months).

Similarly, for those who had paid to open loot boxes 74 percent had done so in the last 12 months. Those who had seen their family members gamble were more likely (80 percent) to have paid to open loot boxes in last 12 months than average (74 percent).

National Lottery play

Summary

This section focuses on lottery play, examining in more detail active involvement and experience with National Lottery products and looking at who young people are with when they play.

This section covers participation in National Lottery games over the last 12 months. Legislation changed in 2021 to increase the age people can play National Lottery games to 18 years old (opens in a new tab).

Young people’s active involvement with lottery products

Overall, 2 percent of all young people spent their own money on a lottery product in the last 12 months. 1 percent had spent their own money on buying either a National Lottery scratchcard, a National Lottery draw based game or National Lottery online instant win games.

The proportion of young people who were actively involved and spent their own money on National Lottery games in the last 12 months is slightly higher among those who have seen family members gamble (3 percent compared with 1 percent of those who have not).

No other variations were observed.

Wider experience of lottery games

Looking at experience over the last 12 months, one in ten 11 to 16 year olds (10 percent) have played a lottery game; typically National Lottery scratchcards (8 percent). Just 3 percent had experience of National Lottery draws games and only 1 percent had played National Lottery online instant win games in the same time period. In this context, ‘experience’ could mean getting involved with picking lottery numbers or scratching off the numbers on someone else’s ticket or card, as discussed in the section on Who young people are with when playing a National Lottery product?.

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 96), 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.

Nine in ten (90 percent) young people who had played National Lottery scratchcards said that someone else purchased the scratchcard using their money and allowed the young person to scratch the numbers off (47 percent). While two in five (38 percent) young people stated someone else purchased the scratchcard using their money and gave it to the young person perhaps as a gift. Only 6 percent said that someone else made the purchase but used money belonging to the young person.

Similarly, 85 percent of young people who bought a ticket for a National Lottery draw based game said that someone else made the purchase for them. Once again, in the majority (53 percent) of cases the young person’s own money was not used to make the purchase, but they were allowed to pick the numbers, although 25 percent stated that the ticket was given to them. Less than one in ten (7 percent) said that someone else made the purchase but used money belonging to the young person.

One in twenty young people who gambled on a National Lottery draw based game, bought a ticket themselves with their own money (4 percent). Similarly, one in twenty young people who purchased a National Lottery scratchcard used their own money (5 percent).

Figure 15: How National Lottery draw games and scratchcards were purchased

Figure 15 information

HANDED. Thinking about the last time you played National Lottery ticket and/or scratchcard which statement best describes how you purchased and paid for the item?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have played National Lottery draw based games (96). All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have played National Lottery scratchcards (280).

How National Lottery draw games were purchased

Figure 15: How National Lottery draw games were purchased.

Purchase mode for National Lottery draw game tickets	Percentage who purchased using this mode
Someone else purchased the ticket using their money, and let me pick the numbers	53%
Someone else purchased the ticket for me, using their money	25%
I purchased the ticket with someone else's money	10%
Someone else purchased the ticket for me, using my money	7%
I purchased the ticket with my own money	4%
I last bought the ticket online and/or using an app	1%

How National Lottery scratchcards were purchased

Figure 13: How National Lottery scratchcards were purchased.

Purchase mode for National Lottery scratchcards	Percentage who purchased using this mode
Someone else purchased the scratchcard using their money, and let me scratch off the scratchcard	47%
Someone else purchased the scratchcard for me, using their money	38%
I purchased the scratchcard with someone else's money	4%
Someone else purchased the scratchcard for me, using my money	6%
I purchased the scratchcard with my own money	5%
I last bought the scratchcard online and/or using an app	0%

Who young people are with when playing a National Lottery product?

Most young people who participated in the National Lottery were in the company of a parent, carer or guardian. For example, when playing National Lottery scratchcards, the majority (80 percent) of young people were with a parent and/or carer and/or guardian, with girls more likely (87 percent) to be so than boys (73 percent).

While only a minority (4 percent) of 11 to 16 year olds were alone when playing National Lottery scratchcards; boys are more likely to be on their own than girls (6 percent compared with less than 1 percent).

Young people were more likely to play National Lottery scratchcards with siblings or friends than other forms of National Lottery games: One in ten (11 percent) were with siblings or friends who were aged 17 years old or younger, and the same proportion (10 percent) were with siblings or friends aged 18 years old or older.

When playing a National Lottery draw based game, the majority (69 percent) of young people were also with their parents and/or guardians during the activity. However, young people were more likely to be alone when playing a National Lottery draw based game than other forms of National Lottery play: One in ten (10 percent) were alone, compared with 4 percent who played National Lottery scratchcards. One in ten (10 percent) were with their siblings or friends aged 17 years old or younger, and only 4 percent did so with siblings or friends above 18 years of age.

There was no significant differences by age or gender.

The proportion of young people playing National Lottery instant win games is too small to allow robust analysis (base of 43), but the findings indicate that most were with someone at the time.

Figure 16: Who young people were with when playing National Lottery games

Figure 16 information

GAMSPEND2. Last time you did [this activity and/or these activities] who were you with?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have played National Lottery Scratchcards (329), National Lottery draw (133), National Lottery online instant win games (43).
Note: This chart shows responses to three separate questions, so the total will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 16: Who young people were with when participating in National Lottery games.

Who were you with?	National Lottery scratchcards participation percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)	National Lottery draws participation percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)	National Lottery instant win games participation percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Parent(s), carer(s) or guardian(s)	80%	69%	56%
Brother(s), sister(s) or friend(s) aged 17 years old or younger	11%	10%	6%
Brother(s), sister(s) or friend(s) aged 18 years old or older	10%	4%	16%
Others	5%	6%	2%
I was alone	4%	10%	22%

Games and gaming machines

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.

Young people’s active involvement in games and gaming machines

Over one in five (22 percent) young people had spent their own money on playing arcade gaming machines such as penny pushers or claw grab machines in the last 12 months, making it the most popular gambling activity to be actively involved in.

Girls were more likely to have spent their own money than boys (24 percent compared to 20 percent). Young people from white ethnic groups were more likely to have spent their own money on arcade gaming machines in the last 12 months than young people from black or other ethnic backgrounds (25 percent compared with 14 percent).

In the same time period, 3 percent of young people had spent their own money on playing fruit or slot machines and 1 percent had spent their own money playing gambling machines in a betting shop.

Overall experience of games and gaming machines play

Just over a third (35 percent) of young people had experienced play on arcade gaming machines, in the last 12 months.

Girls were more likely than boys to have played on arcade gaming machines (37 percent compared to 32 percent). There were also differences by ethnicity with white young people more likely to have played arcade games in the last 12 months, than young people from ethnic minority backgrounds (38 percent compared to 26 percent).

Experience of playing on fruit or slot machines was lower. Just 6 percent of young people did so in the last 12 months.

Who is with young people when they play gaming machines?

When playing arcade gaming machines, the majority (89 percent) of young people were with someone, typically a parent or guardian (57 percent). This also holds true for play on fruit and slot machines; 80 percent were with someone, usually a parent or guardian (60 percent).

For both types of gaming machines, only a minority (5 percent) were alone when they played. Boys were more likely to be alone when they are playing arcade gaming machines, than girls (6 percent compared with 2 percent).

Figure 17: Who young people were with when playing games and gaming machines

Figure 17 information

GAMSPEND2. Last time you did [this activity and/or these activities] who were you with?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have played arcade gaming machines (1,417), fruit or slot machines (312).
Note: Multiple response question so the percentages in the chart and table do not sum to 100 percent.

Figure 17: Who young people were with when playing games and gaming machines.

Who were you with?	Percentage who were playing arcade gaming machines (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)	Percentage who were playing fruit or slot machine (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Parent(s), carer(s) or guardian(s)	57%	60%
Brother(s), sister(s) or friend(s) aged 17 years old or younger	38%	19%
Brother(s), sister(s) or friend(s) aged 18 years old or older	14%	16%
Others	10%	6%
I was alone	5%	5%

Types of gaming machines

Young people who had ever played on arcade gaming machines and fruit or slot machines were asked what kinds of gaming machines they played. The most played games were penny falls or penny pusher machines (73 percent) and claw or crane grab machines (72 percent).

Play on fruit machine-style games where you win tickets to buy prizes (for example soft toys) was less common (18 percent), as was quiz game machines where you win small cash prizes or tickets to buy prizes (15 percent) and fruit machine-style games where you win small cash prizes (10 percent).

Figure 18: Types of gaming machines played

Figure 18 information

FRUITTYPE. Thinking back to the last time you played on arcade gaming machines, fruit or slot machines, or other gambling machines, what sort of machine(s) did you play?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have played arcade gaming machines or fruit and/or slot machines (1,438).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 18: Types of gaming machines played.

Type of gaming machine	Percentage who played gaming machine (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Penny falls or penny pusher machines	73%
Claw or crane grab machines	72%
Fruit machine style games where you win tickets to ‘buy’ prizes	18%
Quiz game machines – where you win small cash prizes or tickets to ‘buy’ prizes	15%
Fruit machine style games where you win small cash prizes	10%
Other	3%
Don’t know	8%

There were some differences in play by gender:

• girls were more likely than boys to play claw or crane grab machines (75 percent compared with 69 percent)
• boys were more likely than girls to play fruit machine style games where you win small cash prizes (11 percent compared with 8 percent).

There were also differences by age:

• overall, the most popular activity for younger groups (11 to 13 year olds) was claw or crane grab machines (76 percent compared with 70 percent of 14 to 16 year olds)
• older age groups (14 to 16 year olds) typically preferred penny fall and/or pusher machines (76 percent compared with 64 percent of 12 year olds).

Play in an adults-only area

Young people who recalled playing on arcade gaming machines were asked if they had ever done so in an adults-only area, for example in an amusement arcade or holiday park, or somewhere with a sign or sticker saying '18 or over'.

The majority (81 percent) had not played arcade gaming machines in an adults-only area. However, one in ten (9 percent) had done so, and a further one in ten (10 percent) were unsure.

Looking at those who had gambled in an adults-only area, young people who had seen their family members gamble were more likely to have done so than average (14 percent compared with 9 percent). As mentioned previously within the section on Who is with young people when they play gaming machines?, the majority of those who played arcade machines were doing so with someone else present (89 percent), typically their parents (57 percent).

Figure 19: Playing machines in an adults-only area

Figure 19 information

FRUITWHERE. As far as you know, have you ever played on any of these machines in an adults-only area or somewhere with a sign and/or sticker saying '18 or over'? For example, an adults only section of an amusement arcade or holiday park.
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have played arcade gaming machines or fruit and/or slot machines and know machine played (1,277).

Figure 19: Playing machines in an adults-only area.

Response	Percentage who have played arcade gaming machines in an adult-only area
Yes	9%
No	81%
Don't know	10%

The Context for gambling participation

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.

Setting gambling in the context of other risk-taking behaviours

To set the findings for gambling participation in context, young people were asked about their involvement in other potentially harmful activities, such as drinking, drug-taking and smoking.

Over the last 12 months, young people were more likely to have taken part in some form of gambling activity than other risk-taking behaviours, as shown as follows in Figure 20. Two in five young people (41 percent) have drunk an alcoholic drink in the last twelve months, 17 percent used an e-cigarette or vaped, 7 percent smoked a tobacco cigarette and 5 percent took an illegal drug.

Figure 20: Participation in risk-taking behaviours in past 12 months

Figure 20 information

GC_GAMSPEND. When did you last do this activity? Was it...? Summary of gambling in the last 7 days, 4 weeks or 12 months
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds (2,559)
GC_ACTIVITY. Please look at the list below and for each activity, select when, if ever, you have done this.
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have taken illegal drugs (2,198), drunk alcoholic drink (2,213), smoked tobacco cigarette (2,224), used an e-cigarette and/or vape (2,202).
Note: The chart shows results for different questions asked in the survey, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 20: Participation in risk-taking behaviours in past 12 months

Type of risk taking behaviour	Percentage who have participated in the past 12 months (results from multiple survey questions, therefore do not sum to 100 percent)
Gambled	50%
Drunk an alcoholic drink	41%
Used an e-cigarette and/or vape	17%
Smoked a tobacco cigarette	7%
Taken illegal drugs (including cannabis)	5%

Across all risk-taking behaviours the participation rate was higher for the older age groups, which is not unexpected as young people approach the legal age for some of these activities. However, there are notably higher levels of participation in risk-taking behaviours among young people who have gambled with their own money in the week prior to taking part in the research. Over half (54 percent) drank an alcoholic drink, 32 percent used an e-cigarette or vaped, 17 percent smoked a cigarette and 16 percent tried an illegal drug.

Setting gambling in the context of other activities

Young people were also asked about the types of activities they most like to do in their spare time. Listening to music (37 percent) and meeting up with friends (35 percent) were most frequently mentioned.

However, the use of devices shapes the way in which many young people spend their free time, with over a third (35 percent) playing games on their phone, iPad, laptop or on a console. For boys it is the most popular activity, with 57 percent playing games on devices in their spare time compared with just 12 percent of girls. It also stands out as the most popular activity amongst 11 year olds, the youngest age group in the survey (46 percent compared with 35 percent overall).

The most popular activity mentioned by girls was listening to music (47 percent compared with 26 percent of boys). Girls were also more likely to report spending time on social media than boys (37 percent compared with 22 percent of boys). Overall, three in ten young people (30 percent) said that spending time on social media was the activity that they liked to do most in their free time.

Taking part in team sports (23 percent), chatting on the phone with friends and family (21 percent), exercising and/or keeping fit (16 percent), watching programmes on TV (16 percent) and reading books (11 percent) were activities which made it into the list of top ten popular activities, as shown as follows in Figure 21.

Figure 21: In your spare time, what are the things that you like to do most - Top ten responses

Figure 21 information

GC_SPARE. In your spare time, what are the things that you like to do most?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,559).
Note: Multiple response question so the percentages in the chart and table do not sum to 100 percent.

Figure 21: In your spare time, what are the things that you like to do most - Top ten responses

Spare time activities – top ten responses	Percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Listening to music	37%
Meeting up with friends	35%
Playing games on my phone, iPad, laptop or console	35%
Spending time on social media	30%
Spending time with family	23%
Taking part in team sports	23%
Chatting on the phone with friends	21%
Exercising and/or keeping fit	16%
Watching programmes on TV and/or streaming services	16%
Reading	11%

Reasons why young people gamble

Most (78 percent) young people who spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months, did so because they regard it as a fun thing to do (as shown as follows in Figure 22). This is by far the most common reason given for gambling.

However, the prospect of winning money is a key driver for some young people. Over a third (36 percent) gambled because they felt they had a good chance of winning something (even if not a big prize), while a quarter (24 percent) said they gambled because they thought they could win a jackpot or big prize. Over three in ten (32 percent) said they gambled with the intention of winning money.

For a third (35 percent) of young people their reason for gambling was that it gave them something to do. A similar proportion cited the simplicity of the games as a reason for gambling (34 percent).

Figure 22: Thinking about when you have spent your money on ... in the last 12 months, why did you do this?

Figure 22 information

GC_SPENDWHY. Thinking about when you have spent your money on ... in the past 12 months, why did you do this?
Base: All participants (answering) who spent their own money in the last 12 months on... (789).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 22: Thinking about when you have spent your money on ... in the last 12 months, why did you do this?

Reasons for gambling – top twelve responses	Percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Because it's fun	78%
I have a good chance of winning something (even if not a big prize or jackpot)	36%
It gives me something to do	35%
The games are simple to play	34%
To try to win money	32%
To get a buzz and/or because it is exciting	24%
I have a chance to win a jackpot or big prize	24%
Because I like to take risks	23%
Because it helps me and/or cheers me up when I feel down, nervous or in a bad mood	16%
Because it's cool	13%
Because it's something my parents and/or guardians do	10%
Because money goes to good causes	10%

There were variations in reasons given for gambling based on the types of activities they participated in. Young people who gamble ‘because it’s fun’ were more likely to be gambling on arcade gaming machines (81 percent). Those who say they are trying to win money are more likely to be playing cards for money between friends or family (50 percent).

Reasons for gambling in the last 12 months, among young people who spent their own money, differed most notably by gender. For instance, girls (86 percent) were more likely to spend their money on playing arcade games because it is fun than boys (76 percent). Whereas boys were more likely than girls to play arcade games because they were simple (41 percent compared with 32 percent) or to try to win money (27 percent compared with 16 percent).

Why young people don’t gamble

A lack of interest in gambling is the most common reason cited by young people for never spending their own money on it (39 percent).

However, a similar proportion did not participate in gambling activities because it is illegal or thought they were too young (37 percent). This was followed by young people not wanting to play with real money and/or they would rather play with free games (25 percent), not being allowed to gamble by their parents (24 percent) and because it may lead to future problems (22 percent).

Figure 23: Reasons for not gambling - Top Ten responses (plus 'Other' and 'Don't know')

Figure 23 information

GC_NEVER. You said that you have never gambled or never spent your own money on gambling. Why is that?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have never spent their own money on gambling (1346).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 23: Reasons for not gambling - Top Ten responses (plus 'Other' and 'Don't know'.

Reasons for not gambling	Percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
It’s not something I’m interested in	39%
It’s illegal and/or I’m too young to do this	37%
I don’t want to play with real money and/or I would rather play free games	25%
My parents would not want me to and/or allow me to	24%
Because it might lead to future problems	22%
Because I will lose more than I will win	21%
I don’t agree with gambling and/or it is not right	21%
Because I am not likely to win money	19%
I don’t know enough about these gambling games	11%
It is against my religion	10%
Other	2%
Don't know	9%

There were gender differences with girls (43 percent) more likely than boys (35 percent) to cite gambling not being an activity that they were interested in as a reason why they did not gamble. Boys (25 percent) were more likely than girls (19 percent) not to gamble because it may lead to future problems.

There were also age differences. 11 to 13 year olds were more likely to mention that their parents do not allow them to gamble than 14 to 16 year olds (29 percent compared with 19 percent), and were more likely to state that they did not agree with gambling than 14 to 16 year olds (26 percent compared with 17 percent).

Young people from ethnic minority groups were more likely than those who are white to cite reasons such as parents’ objection (32 percent compared with 21 percent), not agreeing with gambling (32 percent compared with 16 percent) and gambling being against their religion (29 percent compared with 1 percent).

Who young people were with when they gambled

Most (74 percent) young people who have experience of gambling were with their parents and/or guardians the last time they did so. As shown as follows in Figure 24, 43 percent were with their siblings or friends aged 17 or under and 22 percent were with older siblings or friends. This reflects findings reported for specific gambling activities, which show that young people are rarely alone when they gamble.

Figure 24: Who young people were with when gambling

Figure 24 information

GAMSPEND2. Last time you did this activity and/or these activities who were you with?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (1736).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 24: Who young people were with when gambling

Who young people were with when gambling	Percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Parent(s), carer(s) or guardian(s)	74%
Brother(s) and/or sister(s) or friend(s) 17 or younger	43%
Brother(s) and/or sister(s) or friend(s) 18 or older	22%
Other	17%
I was alone	9%

Playing National Lottery scratchcards (80 percent), bingo at a bingo club (76 percent) and placing a bet on a betting website or app (71 percent) were among the gambling activities that young people were most likely to do in the company of their parents or guardians.

Playing casino games online (39 percent) and bingo online (34 percent, please note the low base size of 80) were the gambling activities that young people were more likely to do alone. However, due to online age verification it is likely to be the case that young people were taking part in free to play games that are similar to casino or bingo games.

Attitudes towards and exposure to gambling

Summary

This section looks at young people’s attitudes towards gambling, including what they think about gambling participation among people their age and who they would go to for help if they had problems with gambling. It also explores young people’s exposure to gambling through advertising, sponsorships, and social media.

Young people’s views on gambling

Young people were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with statements about gambling and were provided with a prompted list to remind them of the activities included in the definition of ‘gambling’ for the purposes of the survey.

Most young people (64 percent) felt that gambling was dangerous, with boys (66 percent) more likely than girls (60 percent) to agree. Young people who had not seen family members gamble were more likely to feel that it was dangerous (70 percent), than those who had seen family members gamble (60 percent), suggesting that exposure to gambling removes an element of danger associated with the unknown.

Only a minority of 11 to 16 year olds appeared to support young people being able to gamble. Around one in ten agreed that it is okay for people their age to gamble to see what it’s like (12 percent) and that most people their age gambled (8 percent). Even fewer young people agreed that it was okay for someone their age to gamble once a week (6 percent).

Figure 25: Young people’s views on gambling

Figure 25 information

GC_ATTMOST GC_ATTDANG GC_ATTOKONCE GC_ATTOKTRY. Thinking about gambling for money, how strongly do you agree or disagree with the statements below?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering 'Most people my age gamble' (2,204). 'Gambling is dangerous' (2,211). 'I feel well informed about the risks of gambling' (2,203). 'It is OK for someone my age to try to gamble to see what it’s like' (2,206). 'It is OK for someone my age to gamble once a week' (2,204). 'People have spoken to me about the potential problems that gambling can lead to' (2,193).
Note: Where percentages for a question do not add up to 100 percent, this is due to computer rounding.

Figure 25: Young people’s views on gambling.

Views	Percentage who strongly agree	Percentage who agree	Percentage who neither agree or disagree	Percentage who disagree	Percentage who strongly disagree	Percentage who don't know
Gambling is dangerous	26%	38%	18%	5%	2%	12%
It is OK for someone my age to try to gamble to see what it’s like	3%	10%	26%	28%	19%	14%
Most people my age gamble	3%	5%	16%	34%	18%	24%
It is OK for someone my age to gamble once a week	2%	4%	15%	36%	29%	15%

Young people with experience of gambling with their own money in the seven days leading up to the survey were, perhaps unsurprisingly:

• more likely to agree that most people their age gamble (15 percent compared with 8 percent overall)
• accept that it is okay for someone their age to gamble too see what it is like (29 percent compared with 12 percent overall)
• to gamble once a week (14 percent compared with 6 percent overall).

Acceptance of gambling also increases with age; 20 percent of 16 year olds agree that it is okay for someone their age to try gambling, compared with 10 percent of 11 year olds.

Young people who have observed family members gambling were more likely to have felt that most people their age gamble (10 percent compared with 6 percent of those who have not seen family members gamble) and they were more likely to agree that it is okay to try gambling to see what it is like (20 percent compared with 9 percent of those who have not seen anyone in their family gamble).

Feeling informed about gambling

Most young people (70 percent) agreed that they were well informed about the risks of gambling. Boys (74 percent) were more likely than girls (66 percent) to feel well informed.

Although most agreed that they felt informed about the risks of gambling, only half (50 percent) of 11 to 16 year olds reported that someone had spoken to them about the potential problems of gambling. Boys (54 percent) were more likely to report that they had been spoken to about the potential problems, than girls (45 percent), which is consistent with the finding that boys felt better informed about gambling risks.

Young people who had experience of gambling in the last 12 months were more likely to agree that someone had spoken to them about the potential problems that gambling can lead to than young people with no experience of gambling (56 percent compared with 46 percent), and felt more informed (75 percent compared with 67 percent).

No significant differences were highlighted by age or ethnicity.

Figure 26: Feeling informed about gambling

Figure 26 information

GC_ATTSPOKEN. GC_ATTINF. Thinking about gambling for money, how strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering 'I feel well informed about the risks of gambling' (2,203). 'People have spoken to me about the potential problems that gambling can lead to' (2,193).

Figure 26: Feeling informed about gambling.

Statement	Percentage who strongly agree	Percentage who agree	Percentage who neither agree or disagree	Percentage who disagree	Percentage who strongly disagree	Percentage who don't know
I feel well informed about the risks of gambling	32%	38%	10%	6%	2%	12%
People have spoken to me about the potential problems that gambling can lead to	18%	32%	12%	13%	6%	19%

Being stopped from gambling

All young people, regardless of gambling experience, were asked whether they had ever been stopped from gambling because they were too young.

If we exclude those who have never tried to gamble, overall 12 percent of young people reported being stopped from gambling because of their age; most commonly from gambling in a premises (9 percent), rather than online (5 percent).

Boys were more likely to have been stopped than girls (15 percent compared with 10 percent) as were young people with experience of gambling in the last seven days (18 percent); typically from gambling in a premises (13 percent).

Young people’s exposure to gambling adverts and promotions and frequency of exposure

The survey also explored the extent to which young people are exposed to gambling advertising, sponsorships, social media activity and direct marketing.

The proportion of young people who have seen adverts or promotion linked to gambling offline or online is similar (66 percent and 63 percent respectively).

Offline, the most reported form of exposure is when watching television (57 percent) or being at a sports event (37 percent). Online, 11 to 16 year olds were most likely to see gambling adverts on an app (54 percent), on social media (44 percent), on live streaming or video sharing platforms (36 percent), or on a website other than social media (35 percent).

Figure 27: Exposure to gambling adverts – chart shows ‘yes’ responses when asked whether seen or heard adverts or promotions

Figure 27 information

GC_ADAWARE. Have you seen or heard adverts or promotion about gambling in any of the following places?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering each type of advertising.
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 27: Exposure to gambling adverts – chart shows ‘yes’ responses when asked whether seen or heard adverts or promotions.

Exposure to offline or online gambling adverts	Percentage who have seen and/or heard gambling adverts (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Offline	66%
Online	63%

Figure 27: Exposure to gambling adverts – chart shows ‘yes’ responses when asked whether seen or heard adverts or promotions.

Location	Percentage who have seen and/or heard gambling adverts (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
On television (TV)	57%
On an app	54%
On social media (including Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok)	44%
At a sports event (for example at football stadiums or on players' shirts or around the pitch)	37%
On live streaming or video sharing platforms (including Twitch, YouTube)	36%
On posters and/or billboards	36%
On another website	35%
On the radio	33%
In newspapers or magazines	33%
Somewhere else	22%

Overall, boys were more likely than girls to have seen or heard adverts or promotions about gambling both offline (68 percent compared with 64 percent) and online (65 percent compared with 61 percent). The most notable difference in exposure is at a sports event (43 percent compared with 31 percent) or via live streaming or video sharing platforms (44 percent compared with 28 percent).

Older age groups (14 to 16 year olds) were more likely to report having seen or heard adverts or promotions about gambling across all forms of both offline and online media, with the exception of newspapers and/or magazines, in comparison to all young people. A similar pattern was evident for young people who had experience of gambling, not necessarily with their own money, over the last 12 months. In addition, young people who had seen family members gamble, in comparison to those who had not, were more likely to recall seeing gambling adverts across most forms of offline and online media.

Young people who recalled seeing or hearing adverts or promotion about gambling were then asked how often they see or hear them. As shown as follows in Figure 28, approaching half of young people who were exposed to gambling adverts online, for example on live streaming and/or video sharing platforms (47 percent), apps (46 percent), or social media websites (45 percent), saw or heard them at least once a week. In contrast, those who saw gambling adverts offline, usually saw them less frequently.

Figure 28: Frequency of seeing and/or hearing gambling promotions and/or adverts at least once a week

Figure 28 information

GC_ADFREQ. And how often, do you see or hear adverts or promotion about gambling in the following places?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering 'On live streaming or video sharing platforms' (902). 'On an app' (1333). 'On social media' (1087). 'On the radio' (820). 'On television (TV)' (1408). 'Somewhere else' (520). 'At a sports event' (902). 'On another website' (826). 'On posters and/or billboards' (872). 'In newspapers or magazines' (813).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 28: Frequency of seeing and/or hearing gambling promotions and/or adverts at least once a week.

Location	Percentage who have seen and/or heard gambling adverts (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
On live streaming or video sharing platforms (including Twitch, YouTube)	47%
On an app	46%
On social media (including Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok)	45%
On the radio	44%
On television (TV)	42%
Somewhere else	40%
At a sports event (for example at football stadiums or on players' shirts or around the pitch)	36%
On another website	35%
On posters and/or billboards	33%
In newspapers or magazines	30%

Overall, boys were more likely to have seen or heard gambling adverts or promotions on a frequent basis than girls, reflecting their greater exposure. For example, boys (53 percent) were more likely to see these adverts on live streaming or video sharing platforms at least once a week than girls (38 percent). Similarly, the proportion of boys who said they had seen gambling adverts on an app at least once a week was higher than girls (52 percent and 39 percent respectively). The figures were similar for frequent exposure on social media (52 percent of boys compared with 38 percent of girls).

Young people who have seen their own family members gamble were also more likely to have seen or heard gambling adverts or promotions on a frequent basis, across all forms of advertising, compared to those who have not seen family members gamble.

Content of gambling adverts and promotions seen

Young people who had been exposed to gambling adverts or promotions were asked what the last one they had seen was about.

The research findings show that young people were most likely to recall seeing an advert or promotion about ‘lotteries’ (mentioned by 43 percent). Over a third recalled the last gambling advert they saw as being about betting (36 percent) or about bingo (36 percent) and three in ten remember it being about casinos (30 percent). However, approaching a quarter of those who had seen adverts could not remember (14 percent) or did not know what it was about.

Figure 29: Nature of gambling adverts seen

Figure 29 information

GC_ADABOUT. And thinking about the last time you saw or heard a gambling advert; do you remember what it was about?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have seen and/or heard any gambling adverts or promotions (1,741).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 29: Nature of gambling adverts seen.

Nature of gambling advert	Percentage who have seen (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Lotteries	43%
Betting	36%
Bingo	36%
Online slots and/or casinos	30%
Can’t remember	14%
Don’t know	9%

There were some differences by gender in the content of gambling adverts they had last seen. For example, girls were more likely than boys to have last seen an advert about the lottery (47 percent compared with 39 percent), or bingo (41 percent compared with 30 percent). Whereas boys were more likely than girls to have last seen an advert about betting (45 percent compared with 25 percent of girls) and online slots and/or casinos (34 percent compared with 25 percent).

There were also some age differences, with 11 to 13 year olds more likely than 14 to 16 year olds to have last seen an advert about lotteries (47 percent compared with 40 percent) or bingo (39 percent compared with 33 percent).

Whether ever prompted to gamble by adverts and promotions

Among young people who have ever seen or heard any gambling advert or sponsorship, the vast majority (82 percent) said that it did not prompt them to spend money on gambling when they did not otherwise plan to.

However, 7 percent say that the advert or sponsorship did prompt them to gamble, increasing to 13 percent of 11 to 16 year olds who have spent their own money on gambling in the last 7 days.

Figure 30: Whether adverts or promotions about gambling ever prompted young people to gamble

Figure 30 information

GC_ADSPEND. Have adverts or promotion about gambling ever prompted you to spend money on gambling when you were not otherwise planning to?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering who have seen and/or heard any gambling adverts or promotions (1,737).

Figure 30: Whether adverts or promotions about gambling ever prompted young people to gamble.

Response	Percentage who have been prompted to gamble by adverts or promotions
Yes	7%
No	82%
Don't know	11%

Following gambling companies on social media

A minority of young people (13 percent) said that they followed or watched gambling companies on social media websites, typically using YouTube (9 percent), followed by TikTok (7 percent) and Instagram (6 percent).

Figure 31: Exposure to gambling on social media

Figure 31 information

GC_SOCIALMED. Do you follow any gambling companies on any of the following social media or streaming platforms?
Base: All 11 to 16 year olds answering (2,207).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent.

Figure 31: Exposure to gambling on social media.

Response	Percentage who have seen (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Yes, on YouTube	9%
Yes, on TikTok	7%
Yes, on Instagram	6%
Yes, on Snapchat	4%
Yes, on Facebook	4%
Yes, on Twitter	3%
Yes, on Twitch	3%
No, I don’t follow any gambling on social media and/or streaming platforms	71%
No, I don’t use social media and/or streaming platforms	4%
Don’t know/can’t remember	12%

In line with differences in rates of gambling, boys were more likely than girls to follow or watch gambling companies on social media (16 percent compared with 11 percent). This is consistent with the finding that boys were more likely than girls to have seen adverts on social media. There were no significant differences by age.

Young people who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 7 days were more likely to follow or watch gambling companies on social media or streaming platforms (28 percent compared with the overall figure of 13 percent).

Appendices

Applying the DSM-IV-MR-J problem gambler screen

The DSM-IV-MR-J (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition - Multiple Response Juvenile) screen is applied to assess whether respondents who gamble are problem or non-problem gamblers. In the adolescent gambling field, this is one of the most widely used instruments to assess problem gambling among this age group.

A two-step eligibility criteria were used in applying the DSM-IV-MR-J screen. Firstly, respondents had to indicate that they had spent their own money on at least one gambling activity on at least one occasion in the last 12 months to answer all of nine components of the problem gambling screener. A full list of gambling activities can be found within the List of gambling activities section of this report. Secondly, young people who answered ‘prefer not to say’ throughout the gambling screen were excluded.

In total 796 individuals qualified for the gambling screen.

Points were then awarded to each respondent based on the answers they gave to the nine components (or questions) which are used to define typologies of gamblers, as set out as follows in Table A.1: Problem and non-problem gambler criteria from the DSM-IV-MR-J screen.

The screen questions use frequency scales of ‘Never’, ‘Once or twice’, ‘Sometimes’ or ‘Often’. Each respondent scores a point for each of the nine criteria that they met. If the respondent has undertaken four or more of the behaviours and/or actions, they receive a score of four or more and they are classified as a ‘problem gambler’. A score of two or three points identifies respondents as at risk gamblers and a score of zero or one indicates a ‘non-problem gambler’.

The following table as shown in Table A.1: Problem and non-problem gambler criteria from the DSM-IV-MR-J screen, indicates how the questions asked in 2022 mapped onto the DSM-IV-MR-J problem gambling screen components and the percentage of young people who gave the required answers to each question when the scoring system was applied to the data.

Table A.1: Problem and non-problem gambler criteria from the DSM-IV-MR-J screen

Table A.1: Problem and non-problem gambler criteria from the DSM-IV-MR-J screen.

2022 question name	DSM-IV criteria	Question wording: ‘In the past 12 months …’	If any of the following answer criteria are ticked, that qualifies as 1 point	Young people scoring1
				Percentage	Number of participants
GC_PREOCC	Preoccupation	How often have you found yourself thinking about gambling or planning to gamble?	‘Often’	1.2%	30
GC_ESCAPE	Escape	How often have you gambled to help you escape from problems or when you were feeling bad?	‘Sometimes’ or ‘often’	1.4%	36
GC_WITHD	Withdrawal	Have you felt bad or fed up when trying to cut down on gambling?	‘Sometimes’ or ‘often’	1.1%	27
GC_TOLERNCE	Tolerance	Have you needed to gamble with more and more money to get the amount of excitement you want?	‘Sometimes’ or ‘often’	1.7%	44
GC_LOSSCON	Loss of control	Have you ever spent much more than you planned to on gambling?	‘Sometimes’ or ‘often’	1.8%	45
GC_TAKEN MONEY	Taken money	Have you ever taken money from any of the following without permission to spend on gambling: Dinner money or fare money? Money from family? Money from things you’ve sold? Money from outside the family? Somewhere else?	If any one or more of these options are ticked, then qualifies for one point in total	2.4%	61
GC_LEDRISKED	Risked relationships	Has your gambling ever led to the following: a) Arguments with family and/or friends or others?	If any of the following are ticked, then qualifies for one point in total: ‘once or twice’, ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’	2.0%	51
GC_LEDRISKED	Risked relationships	Has your gambling ever led to the following: c) Missing school?	If any of the following are ticked, then qualifies for one point in total: ‘once or twice’, ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’	0.6%	14
GC_LEDLYING	Lying	Has your gambling ever led to the following: b) Telling lies to family and/or friends or others?	‘Once or twice’ ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’	1.8%	45
GC_CHASING	Chasing	After losing money by gambling, have you returned another day to try to win back the money you lost?	‘More than half the time’ or ‘every time’	1.3%	33

Small base sizes mean that these findings should be viewed with caution, they also prevent sub-group analysis of the young people defined under each component as having a problem with gambling.

All percentages are shown based on the full sample of 2,559 11-16 year olds.

Notes

¹ Developing the DSM-IV-DSM-IV criteria to identify adolescent problem gambling in non-clinical populations (opens in a new tab).

Research design

Trend data

Since 2011, the Gambling Commission and Ipsos have conducted an annual survey into the gambling behaviours of young people aged 11 to 16 years of age in Great Britain. This report delivers the results from the 2022 survey, which explores young people’s current rates of participation in gambling.

Previously the survey drew on trend data to illustrate how gambling behaviours and attitudes have changed over time. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting closure of schools, suspended fieldwork early in 2020, and prevented the 2021 survey from going ahead. The Commission used this enforced hiatus in the survey time series as an opportunity to improving what we knew about young people and gambling on 2021.

The 2021 questionnaire development work made a number of recommendations to change the questionnaire where responses indicated that questions were not well understood or were at the risk of becoming outdated.

The subsequent changes to the 2022 survey questionnaire have ensured that the study is composed of a set of questions that will improve the quality of official statistics around gambling participation amongst children and young people. However, this does constitute a break in trend data and so the 2022 report only provides data for the current years’ survey.

Sampling

The Young People Omnibus (YPO) survey aims to represent pupils in curriculum years 7 to 11 (S1 to S5 Scotland).

The survey invites pupils to take part who are attending academies (public funded schools held accountable through a legally binding ‘funding agreement’ in England) and maintained (overseen, or ‘maintained’ by the Local Authority) secondary and middle-deemed secondary schools in England, Wales and Scotland.

To enable this a three-stage sampling process was used.

Stage 1

In England and Wales, a sample of schools were selected from Department for Education’s ‘Get Information About Schools’ database (a comprehensive listing of secondary schools in England and Wales). Special schools and sixth form colleges were excluded. The sample frame was stratified by Government Office Region (GOR), and, within each stratum, schools were selected proportional to the number of pupils attending the school. In total 436 schools were selected to participate in the survey.

In Scotland, a sample of 34 schools was selected from the Scottish Government’s school contacts database. The sample was stratified by Local Authority and school size.

Stage 2

One curriculum year group (Year 7-Year 11/ S1 – S5) was selected at random for each school.

Stage 3

In the specified curriculum year group, schools were asked to nominate two mixed ability class groups to take part. In two schools only one class was able to take part, reflecting pupil or teacher absence on the day that the survey took place. All members of the randomly selected class group were selected to fill out the self-completion survey.

Recruiting schools

To maintain comparability, the sampling of schools has remained consistent year on year. However, the way in which schools are recruited has evolved to respond to technological developments and most recently in respect to the demands that were placed on schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advance packs

All schools in the main sample for England and Wales received an invitation pack in early February 2022. The pack included a letter informing them about the survey, a leaflet containing more information on how the data is used and contact details for the Ipsos Young People Omnibus team. The packs are addressed to a named head teacher.

In Scotland, the first step was to send a letter to local authorities which contain schools in the sample frame. Local authorities were informed about the survey and given the option to opt out of the research, on behalf of schools in their area. In total 24 Scottish local authorities were contacted, and three opted out of the survey. Selected schools in the remaining 21 local authorities were then sent the invitation letter and information sheet.

Contacting schools

Schools’ recruitment at Ipsos is managed by our team of experienced recruiters. At the start of February 2022, the Ipsos Young People Omnibus research team conducted a briefing via Microsoft Teams to inform recruiters about the survey content, update them of any changes, and share ideas and tips for encouraging participation.

Recruiters were allocated samples in batches, which contains a mix of regions (to avoid bias). The sample included contact details for the school. Where possible, recruiters sought to enrich this by looking at the school website to try and obtain a named contact or direct email address.

Recruiters made contact with all schools in their sample to:

• gain headteacher consent for the school to participate
• collect contact details for a liaison person within the school (usually the teacher for a selected class)
• select one class from each nominated curriculum year group for the school
• arrange a time and date when each class will take part in the online survey.

Recruiters managed this process by using an electronic booking system, which the research team also access to monitor the response rate.

Over the years incentives have become an essential addition to protecting the response rate, particularly in London. They also help encourage schools to choose to participate in the YPO over other surveys, which offer cash incentives.

In 2022, all schools participating in the YPO were offered a £100 cash incentive. Schools were also given a teaching pack, containing free data and example exercises to use in their classes, and an infographic A3 poster highlighting key findings from YPO surveys to display in class.

Once a school agreed to participate a confirmation email was sent, providing schools with their individual online survey link, a template for letters to parents and further information to administer the survey.

Fieldwork for the study was conducted from 14th March to 1st July 2022.

Response rate

In total, from a sample frame of 470 schools in England, Scotland and Wales, 60 took part in the 2022 YPO survey, giving a school response rate of 13 percent.

Overall, 2,559 pupils aged 11-16 years of age from 118 class groups completed the survey online: an average of 22 pupils per class.

The school response rate has decreased gradually year-on-year, but the 2022 survey was particularly low as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and specifically the omicron wave which affected schools after the festive period of 2021.

The feedback Ipsos received from schools during the initial recruitment stages was that they continued to be affected by staff and pupil absence, making participation in the survey almost entirely impossible. As such the recruitment phase was delayed until after the February 2022 half-term, much later that in previous years.

The following table as shown in Table A.2: Number of telephone calls for purposes of school recruitment, provides details of the number of telephone calls recruiters made to individual schools.

Table A.2: Number of telephone calls for purposes of school recruitment

Table A.2: Number of telephone calls for purposes of school recruitment.

Number of calls made	Number of schools
Under 5	64
5 to 10	124
Over 10	40

Of the schools who did refuse to take part, the most common reason given was that they were too busy – commonly citing the continued demands that the pandemic was making on staff and lesson time.

Weighting

Data are weighted by gender, age and region. The weights were derived from data supplied by the following sources:

• for England, the Department for Education: Schools pupils and their characteristics 2021 (opens in a new tab)
• for Wales: Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC), Welsh Government (opens in a new tab)
• for Scotland: Scottish Government’s school contacts database (opens in a new tab)

The effect of weighting is shown in the Table A.5: Sample profile 2022 within the Sample profile section.

Statistical reliability

The respondents to the questionnaire are only samples of the total population, so we cannot be certain that the figures obtained are exactly those we would have if everybody had been interviewed (the true values).

We can, however, predict the variation between the sample results and the true values from knowledge of the size of the samples on which the results are based and the number of times that a particular answer is given. The confidence with which we can make this prediction is usually chosen to be 95 percent - that is, the chances are 95 in 100 that the true value will fall within a specified range.

The following table as shown in Table A.3: Approximate sampling tolerances by sample size, illustrates the predicted ranges for different sample sizes and percentage results at the 95 percent confidence interval.

Table A.3: Approximate sampling tolerances by sample size

Table A.3: Approximate sampling tolerances by sample size.

Size of sample on which survey results is based	Approximate sampling tolerances applicable to percentages at or near these levels
	10 or 90 percent	30 or 70 percent	50 percent
	Plus or minus	Plus or minus	Plus or minus
100 interviews	6	9	10
500 interviews	3	4	4
1,000 interviews	2	3	3
2,599 interviews (Young People Omnibus respondents, 2022)	1	2	2

For example, with a sample of 2,599 where 30 percent give a particular answer, the chances are 95 in 100 that the 'true' value (which would have been obtained if the whole population had been interviewed) will fall within the range of plus or minus 2 percentage points from the sample result.

Strictly speaking the tolerances shown here apply only to random samples, although they offer an approximation for the complex design used by the current study.

When results are compared between separate groups within a sample, different results may be obtained. The difference may be 'real', or it may occur by chance because not everyone in the population has been interviewed.

To test if the difference is a real one, that is to say if it is 'statistically significant', we again have to know the size of the samples, the percentage giving a certain answer and the degree of confidence chosen. If we assume the '95 percent confidence interval', the differences between the two sample results must be greater than the values given in the following table as shown in Table A.4: Differences required for significance.

Table A.4: Differences required for significance

Table A.4: Differences required for significance.

Size of sample compared	Differences required for significance at or near these percentage levels
	10 or 90 percent	30 or 70 percent	50 percent
	Plus or minus	Plus or minus	Plus or minus
100 and 100	8	13	14
250 and 100	7	11	12
500 and 250	5	7	8
500 and 500	4	6	6
1,000 and 500	3	5	5
1,000 and 1,000	3	4	4
1,500 and 1,000	2	4	4

Sample profile

Profile of young people

The following table as shown in Table A.5: Sample profile 2022 outlines the details of the sample profile for the 2022 study; covering all 11-16 year olds who participated in the Young People Omnibus (YPO).

Table A.5 - Sample profile 2022

Table A.5: Sample profile 2022.

Sample group	Unweighted (number)	Unweighted (percentage)	Weighted (percentage)
Total	2,559	100%	100%
Gender of pupils
Male	1,238	48%	48%
Female	1,167	46%	46%
In another way	82	3%	3%
Prefer not to say	72	3%	3%
Age of pupils
11	85	3%	4%
12	447	17%	20%
13	693	27%	22%
14	719	28%	24%
15	442	17%	18%
16	173	7%	11%
Year of pupils2
7	401	16%	20%
8	696	27%	21%
9	639	25%	21%
10	547	21%	20%
11	276	11%	18%
Ethnic origin
White	1,923	75%	73%
Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)	589	23%	26%
Region
London	270	11%	14%
South East	346	14%	14%
South West	195	8%	8%
North East	278	11%	4%
North West	264	10%	11%
East of England	208	8%	10%
East Midlands	216	8%	8%
West Midlands	237	9%	10%
Yorkshire and Humberside	118	5%	9%
Scotland	255	10%	7%
Wales	172	7%	4%

Profile of schools

In this section we analyse how the sample of participating schools compares with the population of schools that are eligible for YPO (that is to say maintained secondary schools in England, Wales and Scotland). The information for England and Wales is drawn from the Department for Education's 'Get Information About Schools’ database, and the equivalent for Scotland.

Less detailed information is available on the sampling frames for schools in Wales and Scotland, and the analysis is based on the information available for each country for each variable. We analyse the profiles of schools for a range of variables, including:

• school type
• regional distribution
• urban and/or rural profile
• proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals.

Type of establishment

Figures for England and Wales for type of establishment are shown as follows in Table A.6: Profile of school type for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample. Similar categories are not available on the sampling frame for Scotland where all schools are listed as comprehensive.

The proportions in the population and starting sample are similar. There is a slight drop in the proportion of academies, and an over-representation of Welsh schools in the final sample, which was corrected by weighting the data. Only one free school took part in YPO 2022; in practice, free schools are very similar to academies, so this is unlikely to introduce any bias in the sample.

Table A.6: Profile of school type for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample

Table A.6: Profile of school type for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample.

School type	Percentage of population (all schools eligible to be sampled)	Percentage of all schools sampled for YPO 2022	Percentage of schools participating in YPO 2022
Academies	65%	69%	60%
Free schools	7%	5%	2%
Local authority maintained schools	22%	21%	23%
Welsh schools	5%	6%	15%

The regional breakdown of the population, starting sample, and participating sample for England and Scotland is shown as follows in Table A.7: Regional profile for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample.

The participating sample over-represents schools in the North East and Wales compared with the starting sample and population, and slightly under-represents schools in the East of England, London and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Table A.7: Regional profile for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample

Table A.7: Regional profile for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample.

Region	Percentage of population (all schools eligible to be sampled)	Percentage of all schools sampled for YPO 2022	Percentage of schools participating in YPO 2022
East Midlands	8%	8%	8%
East of England	11%	11%	8%
London	14%	14%	11%
North East	4%	4%	9%
North West	13%	14%	13%
South East	14%	15%	13%
South West	9%	9%	8%
Wales	5%	6%	15%
West Midlands	11%	11%	9%
Yorkshire and the Humber	9%	9%	6%
Total (number)	3,326	470	53

The distribution of urban and rural schools in England, Scotland and Wales is consistent between the sample and population. However, the final profile of participating schools slightly over represents those in rural areas with 20 percent of participating schools being located in rural areas compared with 15 percent of the population.

Table A.8: Rural and/or urban profile for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample

Table A.8: Rural and/or urban profile for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample.

Urban or rural	Percentage of population (all schools eligible to be sampled)	Percentage of all schools sampled for YPO 2022	Percentage of schools participating in YPO 2022
All urban	85%	85%	80%
All rural	15%	15%	20%

The following table as shown in Table A.9: School size, and average percentage pupils eligible for free school meals for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample, shows the average number of pupils in schools, and the average percentage eligible for Free School Meals.

The figures for the population, starting sample and participating sample are broadly.

Table A.9: School size, and average percentage pupils eligible for free school meals for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample

Table A.9: School size, and average percentage pupils eligible for free school meals for school population and Young People Omnibus (YPO) starting and/or participating sample.

Data definitions	Percentage of population (all schools eligible to be sampled)	Percentage of all schools sampled for YPO 2022	Percentage of schools participating in YPO 2022
Average percentage free school meals (England and Wales)	15%	14%	17%

The sample of schools participating in YPO 2020 is broadly representative of the population, with a similar profile in terms of types of establishment, free school meals, and urbanity profile. There were some differences by region in the profile of our achieved sample compared with the population, but regional weights applied to the data will correct for any regional bias this might have introduced to the findings.

Notes

² Where responses do not sum to 100 percent this is due to rounding or some young people selecting ‘not stated’. Or equivalent year groups in Scotland.

List of gambling activities and definitions

List of gambling activities

The survey contained four questions which were designed to establish active involvement in gambling and gambling experiences among young people during the past seven days, four weeks, 12 months and more than 12 months ago.

All young people were asked whether they had ever participated in any gambling activities shown on a list. For each activity they had ever participated in, they were then asked when they did so, whether they had spent their own money on it and when they last spent their own money.

The list of gambling activities which formed the basis of the gambling prevalence questions is shown as follows in Table A.10: List of gambling activities.

Table A.10: List of gambling activities

1. National Lottery draw for example Lotto, EuroMillions or Set for Life, either with a physical ticket or playing online
2. National Lottery Scratchcards (not free Scratchcards)
3. National Lottery online instant win games
4. other Lotteries (for example The Health Lottery, People’s Postcode Lottery, or other smaller lotteries)
5. played arcade gaming machines (for example penny pusher or claw grab machine)
6. played fruit or slot machines (for example at an arcade, pub or social club)
7. played gambling machines in a betting shop
8. played cards for money (for example with friends or family)
9. played bingo at a bingo club
10. played bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club (for example social club, holiday park)
11. played bingo online (for example Foxy Bingo, Gala Bingo or Tombola)
12. placed a bet for money between friends or family
13. placed a bet on esports (electronic sports, that is to say playing video games competitively) online
14. placed a bet at a betting shop or bookies (for example on football or horse racing)
15. placed a bet on a betting website and/or app (for example on football or horse racing)
16. played a game inside a casino
17. played casino games online (for example online poker or online roulette for money).

Definitions

The following provides definitions for terms referenced throughout the report.

Regulated gambling - those gambling activities which are licensed and regulated by the Gambling 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 of gaming machines in betting shops, bingo premises, casinos or arcades.

Due to different categories and requirements relating to gaming machines this report may include some gaming machine play which is not directly regulated by the Gambling Commission and in some incidences can be legally played by children and young people.

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

eSports - short for electronic sports, eSports is the competitive playing of video games, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams.