Report
Gambling behaviour and harm among people from different ethnic groups
This report examines how gambling participation, gambling risk, adverse consequences and use of support services vary among people from different ethnic groups.
How does the use of support services vary by ethnic group?
This section references information that can be found in the ethnic group topic report findings excel files that accompany this report.
The survey asked about the use of 4 different support services because of gambling (that is, mental health, foodbanks, relationship, gambling) in the past 12 months - the only timeframe for which this measure was collected. This covered obtaining help, support or information from these services. Use of these services varied by ethnic group. Overall, 3.4% of participants who had gambled in the past 12 months had sought any form of support, but this masked large differences between groups: 2.5% of participants from White backgrounds had sought any support, compared with 13.6% of those from Other ethnic backgrounds, 10.8% of those from Mixed and/or Multiple ethnic backgrounds, 8.7% of those from Black backgrounds and 8.0% of those from Asian backgrounds (as shown in Table 14 in the ethnic group topic report findings).
This pattern held across each individual type of support. Gambling support services specifically were accessed by 0.9% of participants from White backgrounds, compared with 5.8% of those from Other ethnic backgrounds, 5.1% of those from Mixed and/or Multiple ethnic backgrounds, 3.7% of those from Black backgrounds and 2.4% of those from Asian backgrounds. The most-used service differed by group: mental health services for participants from White backgrounds (1.2%), foodbanks for those from Asian backgrounds (5.1%), mental health services for those from Other ethnic backgrounds (8.9%) and those from Mixed and/or Multiple ethnic backgrounds (6.3%), and relationship support for those from Black backgrounds (4.8%) (as shown in Figure 7).
Figure 7: Reported use of support services among those who gambled in the past 12 months, by ethnic group (percentage)
| Service type | White groups | Mixed and/or Multiple ethnic groups | Asian groups | Black groups | Other ethnic groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any support | 2.5 | 10.8 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 13.6 |
| Mental health services | 1.2 | 6.3 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 8.9 |
| Foodbanks | 1.1 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 8.0 |
| Relationship support | 1.0 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 9.1 |
| Gambling support | 0.9 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 5.8 |
Base: Productive individuals who gambled in the past 12 months. Participants within each ethnic group who gambled in the past 12 months (unweighted: White groups = 26,569; Mixed and/or Multiple ethnic groups = 588; Asian groups = 1,175; Black groups = 430; Other ethnic groups = 135).
Among participants with a Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of 3 or more, service use was highest among participants from Mixed and/or Multiple ethnic and Other ethnic backgrounds, who sought support at roughly double the rate of participants from White backgrounds across most service types (any support: 41.4% and 42.1% respectively, versus 21.0% among participants from White backgrounds) as shown in Figure 8) (see Table 15 in the in the ethnic group topic report findings Excel file). Those from Asian and Black backgrounds showed a more modest gap, generally sitting between participants from White backgrounds and those from Mixed and/or Multiple and Other ethnic backgrounds, and in the case of gambling support specifically, the rate among participants from Asian backgrounds (8.9%) was similar to or slightly below that of participants from White backgrounds (10.0%). Even where service use was highest, it remained far from universal: around 76% of those with a PGSI score of three or more had not sought any support, regardless of ethnic group.
Figure 8: Reported use of support services among those with PGSI score of 3 or more, who gambled in the past 12 months, by ethnic group (percentage)
| Service type | White groups | Mixed and/or Multiple ethnic groups | Asian groups | Black groups | Other ethnic groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any support | 21.0 | 41.4 | 27.3 | 27.0 | 42.1 |
| Mental health services | 10.0 | 24.5 | 16.6 | 13.2 | 29.2 |
| Foodbanks | 10.9 | 24.6 | 16.7 | 12.9 | 26.1 |
| Relationship support | 8.0 | 22.5 | 13.1 | 17.3 | 31.2 |
| Gambling support | 10.0 | 23.2 | 8.9 | 14.4 | 20.8 |
Base: Productive individuals who gambled in the past 12 months with a PGSI score of 3 or more. Participants within each ethnic group who gambled in the past 12 months and have a PGSI score of 3 or more (unweighted: White groups = 1,725; Mixed and/or Multiple ethnic groups = 109; Asian groups = 242; Black groups = 91; Other ethnic groups = 32).
Previous sectionHow does the experience of severe adverse and other potential adverse consequences from gambling vary among those from different ethnic groups?
Last updated: 27 October 2026
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