Report
Gambling Survey for Great Britain - Annual report (2023): Official statistics
Gambling Survey for Great Britain - annual report (2023): Official statistics
Executive summary
This report contains findings from the first year of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB).
The survey aims to collect data to enable us to further understand:
- who participates in gambling
- what type of gambling activities they participate in
- experiences of and reasons for gambling
- the consequences that gambling can have on individuals and others close to them.
This survey was conducted using a push-to-web approach, with data collected from 9,804 adults aged 18 years and older living in Great Britain. Fieldwork was carried out between July 2023 and February 2024, consisting of 2 waves. The survey is commissioned by the Gambling Commission and carried out by the National Centre for Social Research in collaboration with the University of Glasgow.
Interpretation of the data
The new push-to-web methodology of this survey means that estimates presented in this report are not directly comparable with results from prior gambling or health surveys and such comparisons should not be used to assess trends over time. The GSGB data outlined in this report represents the first year of a new baseline, against which future changes can be compared.
The GSGB, like most other surveys, collects information from a sample of the population. Statistics based on surveys are estimates, rather than precise figures, and are subject to a margin of error (a 95 percent confidence interval). Generally, the larger the sample the smaller the margin of error.
Throughout this report, unless specified otherwise, findings that have been included and all differences noted between subgroups are significant at the 95 percent significance level.
Headline statistics
Gambling participation
Nearly half (48 percent) of adults aged 18 and over participated in any form of gambling in the past 4 weeks.
Gambling participation was 27 percent when those who only participated in lottery draws were excluded.
Male participants (52 percent) were more likely than female participants (44 percent) to have participated in any gambling in the past 4 weeks.
Males (30 percent) were also more likely than females (24 percent) to have gambled on something other than lottery draws alone.
Adults in the youngest and oldest age groups were least likely to participate in any form of gambling in the past 4 weeks (37 percent of those aged 18 to 24, and 41 percent of those aged 75 and over) and adults aged 45 to 64 were most likely (53 percent).
When excluding those who only participate in lottery draws, participation was highest for those aged 18 to 44 years (33 to 34 percent) and subsequently decreased with age to 13 percent for those aged 75 years and over.
The most common gambling activities that adults had participated in in the past 4 weeks were the National Lottery (31 percent), buying tickets for other charity lotteries (16 percent), and buying scratchcards (13 percent).
Participants were more likely to gamble online than gamble in person (that is to gamble at a venue or purchase lottery tickets or scratchcards from shops or other vendors) (37 percent and 29 percent respectively). However, much of this difference was accounted for by people purchasing lottery tickets online; when lottery draws are removed 18 percent of participants had gambled in person, compared with 15 percent online.
Male participants were more likely than female participants to have participated in any online gambling in the past 4 weeks (42 percent and 32 percent respectively) and to have gambled on online activities other than lottery draws (19 percent for males and 11 percent for females).
Male participants were also more likely than female participants to have taken part in gambling activities in person in the past 4 weeks (31 percent and 28 percent respectively), though when lottery draws were removed the proportions were similar (19 percent for males and 18 percent for females).
Experiences of and reasons for gambling
When asked to rate their feelings towards gambling out of 10, where 10 represented that they loved it, 0 represented that they hated it, and 5 represented the neutral mid-point:
- 41 percent of adults who gambled in the past 12 months rated the last time they gambled with a positive score of between 6 and 10
- 21 percent gave a negative score of between 0 and 4
- 37 percent gave a score of 5, expressing that they neither loved or hated it.
When participation in lottery draws was excluded, the pattern was similar with a higher proportion giving a positive score (50 percent between 6 and 10, 31 percent a neutral 5, and 19 percent a negative score between 0 and 4).
The most common reasons for adults to participate in gambling at least sometimes were:
- for the chance of winning big money (86 percent)
- because gambling is fun (70 percent)
- to make money (58 percent)
- because it was exciting (55 percent).
The most commonly reported reason for gambling was for the chance of winning big money, for both male and female participants (88 percent and 80 percent respectively).
Those aged 18 to 24 were the only age group where gambling because it was fun (83 percent) was more common than gambling to win big money (79 percent).
Consequences from own gambling
This report represents the first year of a new baseline survey against which future trends can be assessed. Direct comparisons with prior surveys to look at trends over time should therefore not be made. However, some comparisons to understand the impact of different survey methodologies is useful. For example, the proportion of people scoring 8 or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) reported within the GSGB is higher than those reported in prior studies, which may have been impacted by the methodology used. There is uncertainty as to whether the GSGB or estimates from prior studies are closer to the truth. Whilst further work is undertaken to explore this, there is a risk that estimates presented below overstate the true level of adverse gambling consequences within the population. This executive summary on PGSI scores therefore focuses on comparative data rather than absolutes. More detail on this is included in the chapter on the consequences from gambling.
Problem Gambling Severity Index
The PGSI is used to measure both behavioural symptoms of gambling disorder and certain adverse consequences from gambling. The PGSI consists of 9 items that are rated on a 4 point-scale. Responses to the 9 PGSI questions are summed and a score ranging between 0 and 27 is computed. Scores are then grouped into these categories:
- PGSI score of 0 (a person who gambles, but does not report experiencing any of the 9 behavioural symptoms or adverse consequences asked about)
- PGSI score of 1 to 2 (low risk gambling by which a person is unlikely to have experienced any adverse consequences from gambling but may be at risk if they are heavily involved in gambling)
- PGSI score of 3 to 7 (moderate risk gambling by which a person may or may not have experienced adverse consequences from gambling but may be at risk if they are heavily involved in gambling)
- PGSI score of 8 or higher (problem gambling by which a person will have experienced adverse consequences from their gambling and may have lost control of their behaviour. Involvement in gambling can be at any level, but is likely to be heavy).
The PGSI categories represent a continuum of risk, ranging from those experiencing no adverse consequences or behavioural symptoms of disorder to those experiencing both.
Male participants were more likely than female participants to have PGSI scores above 0. Those aged 18 to 34 had higher PGSI scores than other age groups.
The proportion of participants with a PGSI score of 8 or more was over 9 times higher for those who had taken part in betting on non-sports events in person relative to all people who had gambled in the past 12 months.
The proportion of participants with a PGSI score of 8 or more was more than 6 times higher for those who had gambled on online slots, relative to all people who had gambled in the past 12 months.
The proportion of participants with a PGSI score of 8 or more was between 4 and 5 times higher than all people who had gambled in the past 12 months for several gambling activities such as fruit or slot machines, online bingo, and casino games.
Adverse consequences from own gambling
The Commission has developed a new set of questions to be used in the GSGB to measure a broad range of adverse consequences from gambling. These questions, asked of those who had gambled in the past 12 months, were split into 2 types:
Those categorised as severe adverse consequences, where any experience of them is highly likely to be harmful.
Those categorised as other potential adverse consequences, which are more likely to be harmful if experienced often or may be harmful depending on the individual’s specific circumstances.
Severe consequences from own gambling
Among those who had gambled in the past 12 months, the most reported severe consequence experienced as a result of one’s own gambling was relationship breakdown (1.6 percent).
Males participants who had gambled in the past 12 months (3.5 percent) were more likely than female participants who had gambled in the past 12 months (2.1 percent) to experience at least one severe consequence due to their own gambling.
Experiencing at least one severe consequence was higher among younger adults who had had gambled in the past 12 months (5.9 percent for those aged 18 to 34) than older adults who had gambled in the past 12 months (0.7 percent for those aged 55 and over).
Other potential adverse consequences from own gambling
Among those who gambled in the past 12 months the most frequently reported potential adverse consequences were:
- reducing spending on everyday items (6.6 percent reported this happening at least occasionally)
- lying to family (6.4 percent reported this happening at least occasionally)
- feeling isolated (5.5 percent reported this happening at least occasionally).
Suicide ideation or attempts
Participants were asked if they had thought about taking their own life or had attempted to do so in the past 12 months. Those who answered yes were then asked if this was related to their gambling.
Of the 11.4 percent of participants who had thought about or attempted taking their own life, 4.9 percent reported that this was related to their gambling either a little or a lot, with 1.1 percent reporting that this was related to their gambling a lot.
It is worth noting, in an area which is very difficult to research, that the 11.4 percent of adults who had thought about or attempted taking their own life in the past 12 months represents an estimate higher than reported in other studies.
Help seeking for own gambling
Overall, 3.2 percent of adults who had gambled in the past 12 months had sought support because of their own gambling. Similar proportions of participants sought help from each source of support; ranging from 1 percent for gambling support services to 1.9 percent for food banks.
Severe and other potential adverse consequences from someone else's gambling
Nearly half (47.9 percent) of adults reported someone close to them gambled, even if occasionally.
Around 1 in 20 (4.7 percent) adults who knew someone close to them who gambled reported experiencing at least one severe consequence from someone else’s gambling.
The most commonly reported severe consequence from someone else’s gambling was relationship breakdown (3.5 percent).
The most frequently reported potential adverse consequences of someone else’s gambling were:
- experiencing embarrassment, guilt or shame (9.9 percent of those who knew someone close to them gambled experienced this at least occasionally)
- experience of conflict or arguments (8.8 percent of those who knew someone close to them gambled experienced this at least occasionally)
- experiencing health problems, including stress and anxiety (7.5 percent of those who knew someone close to them gambled reported this happening at least occasionally).
Help seeking due to someone else’s gambling
Overall, 3 percent of participants who reported that someone close to them gambled had sought some form of support; ranging from 1.3 percent for mental health services or relationship counselling to 1.5 percent for gambling support services.
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GSGB Annual report - Introduction
Last updated: 25 July 2024
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