Report
Gambling Survey for Great Britain Year 2 topic report: Investigating the profiles of those who gamble more frequently
This topic report uses data from Year 2 of the GSGB to explore the association between engagement in gambling activities, frequency of gambling, and risk.
Introduction
This topic report is published alongside the second annual report from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB). Further details about the survey methodology including its strengths and limitations are provided in the GSGB Technical report.
This topic report is based on Year 2 data from the GSGB, collected in 2024. It is an extension of the analysis published in February 2025 that used Year 1 (2023) data to explore the association between gambling activities, frequency, and risk. The Year 1 (2023) report showed that, irrespective of someone’s wider engagement in gambling or their demographic profile, a significant association between past year engagement in some activities and scoring eight or more on the PGSI remained, Specifically, non-National Lottery (NL) scratch cards and instant win games, betting on sports and/or racing in person, betting on the outcome of events, all types of casino games, and fruit and slot machines. The report also showed how gambling involvement, measured by the number of activities and frequency of gambling, remained important predictors of scoring eight or more on the PGSI alongside engagement in each of these specific activities. Because of sample sizes, analysis within the Year 1 (2023) topic report looked at those who had gambled on any activity in the past 12 months, meaning that those who gambled very occasionally and those who gambled very frequently were included in the same groups. For those reasons, the Year 1 (2023) report recommended examining further the relationship between engagement in specific activities and Problem Gambling Severity Index1 (PGSI) scores among those who gamble more frequently. The larger base sizes available in Year 2 (2024) coupled with the extended list of activities available in the GSGB allow this relationship to be investigated further, permitting a degree of granularity that was not possible at Year 1 (2023). For example, through the inclusion of in-play betting as a separate activity.
Gambling involvement
Gambling involvement can be measured by expenditure (measured by losses or net spend as a proportion of income), frequency (how often an individual takes part in gambling activities), duration (how long an individual spends in a typical session when gambling), and range (the number of different gambling activities an individual takes part in). There is a known relationship between higher levels of gambling involvement and higher levels of gambling harms 23. In 2010, the Australian Productivity Commission noted that population focus on the determinants of gambling harms can be misleading for policy purposes, as this includes those who gamble very infrequently, and recommended that policy evidence focus on those who gamble frequently instead.
This report takes a deeper dive look at those who gamble frequently, defined here as people who reported gambling at least weekly in the past four weeks. This definition of frequency ties in with the recommended frequency thresholds identified by the Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines4. This is a set of guidelines, developed by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction using data from a range of countries5, that sets out suggested limits on gambling frequency, expenditure, and number of activities with the intention of reducing an individual’s risk from gambling harms. Whilst the UK was excluded in the development, there is evidence suggesting they could also act as a suitable guide to gambling in England6 and potentially the UK. The Lower-Risk Gambling guidelines suggest an individual should gamble no more than four times in a month, roughly equating to once a week. By focusing on weekly activity this report therefore provides insight into a group of people deemed by the guidelines to have a higher probability of harms.
In this report we compare the profiles of people who have different levels of gambling frequency. We then look at the association between weekly gambling on certain product types and Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores.
References
1 The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) consists of 9 items which measure both behavioural symptoms of gambling disorder and certain adverse consequences from gambling.
2 Rossow, I., 2019. The total consumption model applied to gambling: Empirical validity and implications for gambling policy. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 36(2), pp.66-76.
3 Kesaite V., Wardle H. and Rossow I. (2023) Gambling consumption and harm: a systematic review of the evidence; Addiction Research & Theory (opens in new tab).
4 The Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines (opens in new tab)
5 Currie, S.R. and Low Risk Gambling Guidelines Scientific Working Group: Currie Shawn Flores-Pajot Marie-Claire Hodgins David (co-chair) Nadeau Louise Paradis Catherine Robillard Chantal Young Matthew (co-chair), 2019. A research plan to define Canada’s first low-risk gambling guidelines. Health promotion international, 34(6), pp.1207-1217.
6 Rochester, E., Cunningham, J.A. Applying the Canadian Low-Risk Gambling Guidelines to Gambling Harm Reduction in England. J Gambl Stud 40, 21–28 (2024) (opens in new tab).
Investigating the profiles of those who gamble more frequently - Definitions Next section
Investigating the profiles of those who gamble more frequently - Gambling frequency groups
Last updated: 2 October 2025
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