Report
Gambling participation in 2019: behaviour, awareness and attitudes
A report providing an overview of consumer gambling behaviour in Great Britain in 2019
Contents
- Executive summary
- Preface
- Gambling participation
- Problem and at-risk gambling
- Online gambling behaviour
- Consumer analysis
- - Self-exclusion and gambling management tools
- - Information to players
- - Terms and conditions
- - Complaints
- - Social media and advertising
- - Social gaming
- Perceptions and attitudes
- Appendix – methodology
Perceptions
The Commission has been tracking public perceptions of gambling for over a decade, using questions asked to respondents on a quarterly basis using the telephone survey. The questions measure the extent to which people in Great Britain think that gambling is fair and can be trusted, and that gambling is associated with criminal activity.
Figure 50 shows the percentage of respondents who agreed, either strongly or slightly, with the statement that gambling in this country is fair and can be trusted.
Figure 50: Agree that gambling is conducted fairly and can be trusted – Percentage agreeing with statement (Telephone Survey; n=4,003)
| All respondents | Gambled past 12 months | Not gambled past 12 months | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 48% | 59% | 31% |
| 2011 | 49% | 59% | 31% |
| 2012 | 49% | 57% | 31% |
| 2013 | 42% | 51% | 30% |
| 2014 | 41% | 49% | 29% |
| 2015 | 39% | 45% | 27% |
| 2016 | 34% | 38% | 29% |
| 2017 | 33% | 38% | 27% |
| 2018 | 30% | 34% | 25% |
| 2019 | 29% | 32% | 25% |
Overall, 29% of respondents agreed with the statement that gambling was fair and can be trusted in 2019. Gamblers’ attitudes remain more positive than non-gamblers, with a higher percentage of gamblers agreeing with the statement that gambling is fair and can be trusted (32%) compared with 25% of non-gamblers.
Although there has not been a significant change in the results between 2018 to 2019, there has been a significant decline in agreement over the past ten years. It can be seen that this overall ten year decline appears to be mainly driven by a change in agreement amongst gamblers.
Figure 51 shows the percentage of respondents who agreed, either strongly or slightly, with the statement that gambling in this country is associated with criminal activity.
Figure 51: Agree that gambling is associated with criminal activity – Percentage agreeing with statement (Telephone Survey; n=4,003)
| All respondents | Gambled past 12 months | Not gambled past 12 months | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 37% | 36% | 39% |
| 2011 | 37% | 34% | 41% |
| 2012 | 40% | 37% | 45% |
| 2013 | 40% | 38% | 43% |
| 2014 | 41% | 40% | 43% |
| 2015 | 40% | 37% | 44% |
| 2016 | 39% | 36% | 42% |
| 2017 | 41% | 39% | 43% |
| 2018 | 38% | 36% | 41% |
| 2019 | 43% | 41% | 46% |
Overall, 43% of respondents agreed with the statement that gambling was associated with criminal activity, a significant increase of 5 percentage points since 2018.
The 5 percentage point increase continues when looking at both gamblers (36%) and non-gamblers (41%) agreeing that gambling is associated with criminal activity. Respondents who agreed that gambling was associated with criminal activity were asked which crimes they associated with gambling. Of those providing a response (414 respondents), gambling addicts stealing to carry on gambling was most commonly mentioned (34%), followed by fraud (19%) drug dealing/trafficking/prostitution (18%) and money laundering (17%).
Next sectionAttitudes towards gambling
Last updated: 24 February 2022
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