Report
Gambling Survey for Great Britain - Year 1 (2023), wave 1 report
Gambling Survey for Great Britain - Year 1 (2023), wave 1 report
Response to the survey
Data tables are provided in Statistics on gambling participation – Year 1 (2023), Wave 1 .
Address-level response rates
Table A.1: Address-level response summarises the address-level response rates. In total, 18,776 addresses were issued. In remote surveys (that is where participants complete the survey independently without any involvement from an interviewer), no information is known about the reason for non-response in individual addresses. However, it was assumed that around 9 percent of addresses in the sample (1,690) were not residential and were therefore ineligible to complete the survey1.
Table A.1: Address-level response (summarises the address-level response rates)
| Response of issued addresses | Total addresses: (number) | Total addresses: (percentage) | Total eligible: (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issued addresses | 18776 | 100% | Not applicable |
| Assumed ineligible | 1690 | 9% | Not applicable |
| Assumed eligible (residential addresses) | 17086 | 91% | 100% |
| Refusal or unable to take part | 24 | 0% | 0% |
| No response | 13833 | 74% | 81% |
| Productive addresses | 3229 | 17% | 19% |
In total, 3,229 addresses were productive. The adjusted address-level response rate, that is the proportion of eligible addresses where a questionnaire was completed by at least one adult in eligible addresses, was 19 percent (lower than the target of 22 percent). There was no response from 13,833 of the addresses assumed to be eligible and an individual from a further 24 addresses contacted the office to say they did not wish or were unable to take part.
Table A.2: Address-level response, by country shows the breakdown of the issued sample in England, Scotland and Wales and the household response rate in each country. In total, 86 percent of the issued addresses were in England, 9 percent in Scotland and 5 percent in Wales. Household responding rates were very similar across all 3 countries: 19 percent in England, 18 percent in Scotland and 18 percent in Wales.
Table A.2: Address-level response, by country
| Country | Total issued addresses: (number) | Total issued addresses: (percentage) | Total assumed eligible addresses:(number) | Total assumed eligible addresses: (percentage) | Total productive addresses: (number) | Household response rate: (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 16106 | 86% | 14658 | 86% | 2790 | 19% |
| Scotland | 1734 | 9% | 1578 | 9% | 285 | 18% |
| Wales | 934 | 5% | 850 | 5% | 154 | 18% |
| All addresses | 18776 | 100% | 17086 | 100% | 3229 | 19% |
In terms of the English regions, the highest response rates were achieved in the South East (22 percent), South West (22 percent), North East (21 percent) and East Midlands (21 percent) and the lowest in London (15 percent) and North West (17 percent) as shown in Table A.3: Address-level response, by Government Office Region.
Table A.3: Address-level response, by Government Office Region
| Government Office Region | Total issued addresses: (number) | Total issued addresses: (percentage) | Total assumed eligible addresses:(number) | Total assumed eligible addresses: (percentage) | Total productive addresses: (number) | Household response rate: (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 811 | 4% | 738 | 4% | 155 | 21% |
| North West | 2178 | 12% | 1982 | 12% | 340 | 17% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 1591 | 8% | 1448 | 8% | 280 | 19% |
| East Midlands | 1392 | 7% | 1267 | 7% | 260 | 21% |
| West Midlands | 1647 | 9% | 1499 | 9% | 265 | 18% |
| East of England | 1788 | 10% | 1627 | 10% | 318 | 20% |
| London | 2406 | 13% | 2189 | 13% | 319 | 15% |
| South East | 2604 | 14% | 2370 | 14% | 518 | 22% |
| South West | 1691 | 9% | 1539 | 9% | 335 | 22% |
| Scotland | 1734 | 9% | 1578 | 9% | 285 | 18% |
| Wales | 934 | 5% | 850 | 5% | 154 | 18% |
| All addresses | 18776 | 100% | 17086 | 100% | 3229 | 19% |
Individual-level response rates
Following the process of removing duplicate responses2, cases deemed to have completed the online questionnaire too quickly to have properly engaged with the questions and cases above the maximum 2 completions per household, it was assumed that all responses in the dataset were from 4,801 unique individuals who had completed the questionnaire.
Table A.4: Individual-level response, by age and sex
| Age group (years) | Total participants: male (percentage) | Total participants: female (percentage) | Total participants: all (percentage) | Total Great Britain population: adult males (percentage) | Total Great Britain population: adult females (percentage) | Total Great Britain population: adult all (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 4% | 7% | 5% | 11% | 10% | 10% |
| 25 to 34 | 14% | 17% | 15% | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| 35 to 44 | 16% | 17% | 16% | 16% | 16% | 16% |
| 45 to 54 | 14% | 15% | 15% | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| 55 to 64 | 16% | 18% | 17% | 16% | 16% | 16% |
| 65 to 74 | 20% | 16% | 18% | 13% | 13% | 13% |
| 75 plus | 16% | 11% | 13% | 10% | 12% | 11% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Unweighted bases | 2124 | 2668 | 4792 | 25,005,805 | 26,712,827 | 51,718,632 |
Table A.4: Individual response, by age and sex shows the age and sex profile of the 4,801 responding adults who completed the questionnaire (2,124 men, 2,668 women and 9 participants who did not respond to the age and/or sex questions). In total, 44 percent of the responding unweighted sample were men and 56 percent were women. This under-representation of men is similar to that seen in the latest published results for other surveys with the same completion modes, for example, the British Social Attitudes (BSA) 2023 survey BSA 40 Technical details (natcen.ac.uk) (opens in a new Tab)(pdf). In total, 44 percent of the BSA 2023 unweighted main sample were men and 56 percent women.
Those in the younger age groups were less likely to take part than their older counterparts: 5 percent of responding adults were aged 18 to 24 years (this age group makes up 10 percent of the adult population of Great Britain) and 18 percent were aged 65 to 74 years (this age group makes up 13 percent of the adult population of Great Britain).
This difference was particularly pronounced for men: 4 percent of the male sample were aged 18 to 24 years (this age-sex group makes up 11 percent of the male adult population of Great Britain). The equivalent proportions for women aged 18 to 24 years were 7 percent and 10 percent. The national percentages are based on the 2021 mid-year population estimates for Great Britain: Estimates of the population for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (opens in a new Tab).
Table A.5: Individual-level response, by mode of completion and sex
| Sex | Individual-level response: Online completions (percentage) | Individual-level response: Postal completions (percentage) | Individual-level response: Total completions (number) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 64% | 36% | 2124 |
| Female | 64% | 36% | 2668 |
| All participants | 64% | 36% | 4801 |
| Unweighted bases | 3069 | 1732 | 4801 |
Table A.5: Individual response, by mode of completion and sex shows response rates by mode of completion, overall and for men and women separately. Overall, 64 percent (3,069) completed the survey online and 36 percent (1,732) completed a postal questionnaire. These results are broadly in line with expectations, based on experience of previous surveys.
There was no overall difference between men and women in the mode of completion. However, there was a marked difference according to age with the percentage of those completing the survey online decreasing with age (and hence the percentage completing the postal questionnaire increasing with age). In all age groups, except the oldest two (aged 65 to 74 and aged 75 and over), a higher proportion completed the survey online rather than filling in the postal questionnaire. In total, 47 percent of those aged 65 to 74 and 31 percent of those aged 75 and over completed the survey online compared to those in the younger age groups, whose online completion was between 56 percent and 88 percent, as shown in Table A.6: Individual response, by mode of completion and age.
Table A.6: Individual response, by mode of completion and age
| Age group (years) | Individual-level response: Online completions (percentage) | Individual-level response: Postal completions (percentage) | Individual-level response: Total completions (number) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 87% | 13% | 263 |
| 25 to 34 | 88% | 12% | 743 |
| 35 to 44 | 82% | 18% | 777 |
| 45 to 54 | 70% | 30% | 699 |
| 55 to 64 | 56% | 44% | 819 |
| 65 to 74 | 47% | 53% | 875 |
| 75 plus | 31% | 69% | 625 |
| Unweighted bases | 3069 | 1732 | 4801 |
The mode of survey completion was similar for those who participated in gambling in the past 4 weeks and those who did not. A higher proportion completed the online survey compared to the postal survey in both groups, with 65 percent of those who gambled in the past 4 weeks and 64 percent of those who did not gamble in the past 4 weeks completing the survey online as shown in Table A.7: Individual response, by mode of completion and gambling prevalence in the past four weeks.
Table A.7: Individual response, by mode of completion and gambling prevalence in the past four weeks
| Gambling prevalence in the past four weeks | Individual-level response: Online completions (percentage) | Individual-level response: Postal completions (percentage) | Individual-level response: Total completions (number) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gambled in the past four weeks | 65% | 35% | 2229 |
| Not gambled in the past four weeks | 64% | 36% | 2509 |
| Unweighted bases | 3063 | 1675 | 4738 |
References
1When estimating the proportion of ineligible addresses on an online survey, it is best practice to assume the same ineligibility rate as a recent face-to-face survey which uses the same sample frame and sampling approach and for which detailed outcomes are known for the entire issued sample. Ineligibility rates in Postcode Address File (PAF) face-to-face surveys tend to fall between 8 percent and 10 percent and 9 percent is the rate recorded in the most recent face-to-face British Social Attitudes Survey (2019) and has been used as an appropriate default for this survey.
2Where either a single participant completed the survey a second time or where more than two people in a household completed the survey (for example, two completing the survey online and two different people completing postal questionnaires.
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Last updated: 16 May 2024
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