Report
Understanding the impact of increased cost of living on gambling behaviour
Gambling Commission report with Yonder to understand the behaviours and motivations of gamblers during the period of high cost of living in Great Britain.
Contents
Financial comfort and concerns around cost of living
This section outlines respondents’ experiences related to the cost of living in Great Britain and how the increases in the cost of living have impacted the public’s sense of financial security.
We define ‘cost of living’ as the amount of money that is needed to cover basic expenses such as housing, food, taxes, healthcare, and a certain standard of living.
Respondents were asked about the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements relating to concerns about or their degree of comfort with their finances at the time of surveying.
At a total level, consistently across the three waves, just under half of respondents agreed that they were ‘just about managing but felt confident that they would be okay’. 40 to 43 percent between the start and end of tracking felt they were ‘financially comfortable’, showing a small but steady directional increase from wave 1 to wave 3. Between 24 and 25 percent also consistently reported ‘not being concerned about the impact of the cost of living on themselves or their family’.
However, 60 percent of respondents in wave 1, agreed that they ‘have looked at ways they can make their income go further’, for example by reducing food portion size or buying second-hand goods. This increased to 65 percent in wave 2 and stabilised in wave 3. At least 40 percent also reported being ‘concerned about their ability to buy everything they need for themselves and/or their families’. The proportion of those agreeing with this statement peaked in wave 2, rising to 45 percent but returned to levels previously seen in wave 3 (41 percent). Around 31 to 35 percent agreed that they have ‘needed to consider, or have found, additional ways to supplement their income’, rising steadily over time. Between 31 and 34 percent agree that they ‘have found it difficult to manage financially’, which peaked in wave 2 but returned to levels previously seen in the run-up to Christmas 2022.
Broadly, agreement with the more optimistic statements related to the cost of living has remained stable over time. However, most reported having taken steps to make their income go further with a greater proportion of respondents reporting this moving into 2023. Consideration for or actively finding alternative ways to supplement income has also increased during the tracked period of increased cost of living.
Table 1.1: Agreement with financial comfort and concerns statements (all respondents)
| Financial comfort and concerns NET: Agree or Strongly Agree |
Wave 1 (percentage) |
Wave 2 (percentage) |
Wave 3 (percentage) |
Statistical differences (versus previous wave) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I am just about managing but feel confident that I’ll be okay | 46% | 46% | 47% | No significant differences |
| At the moment, I am financially comfortable | 40% | 41% | 43% | No significant differences |
| At the moment, I am not concerned about how the cost of living is impacting myself and/or my family | 25% | 24% | 25% | No significant differences |
| I have looked at ways I can make my income go further (such as reduce food portion size, buying second-hand goods, and so on) | 60% | 65% | 65% | Wave 2 significantly higher than Wave 1 |
| I am concerned about my ability to buy everything I need for myself and/or my family | 40% | 45% | 41% | Wave 2 significantly higher than Wave 1 Wave 3 significantly higher than Wave 2 |
| I have needed to consider, or have found, additional ways to supplement my income | 31% | 34% | 35% | Wave 2 significantly higher than Wave 1 |
| At the moment, I am finding it difficult to manage financially | 31% | 34% | 31% | Wave 2 significantly higher than Wave 1 Wave 3 significantly higher than Wave 2 |
Table 1.1 information
Question 6. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Base: Total sample who took part in wave 1, wave 2, and wave 3 (1,391).
It is also notable that individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 years old, or 65 years old and over, as well as men, and those from a C or D social grade1 showed ‘the most comfort’ and ‘least concern over their financial and living situation’ respectively, despite the rise in cost of living.
Interestingly, the opposite effect is noticed on individuals aged between 24 and 54 years old, women, and some from a D or E social grade reported feeling the most financially impacted by the cost of living, having to look for ways to supplement their income and showing concerns over managing their finances.
The overlap in results for social grade D suggest that this socio-economic group may have mixed perspectives regarding their experience with the cost of living and those perspectives may be dependent on age and gender.
Compared to all respondents, a similar pattern of agreement with the financial comfort and concern statements was observed amongst all those who participated in at least one gambling activity in the last four weeks.
Notably, however, in wave 2 (post-Christmas 2022), gamblers reported to be more likely to agree that they were ‘not concerned about how the cost of living is impacting themselves and/or their families’ (27 percent versus 24 percent for all respondent). In line with this, gamblers in wave 2 also reported to be less likely to be ‘concerned about their ability to buy everything they need for themselves and/or their families’ compared to the overall respondents (43 per cent versus 45 percent). However, the reported shifts in these two statements in wave 2 returned to levels previously seen and back in line with their respective average levels of agreement in wave 3.
Table 1.2: Agreement with financial comfort and concerns statements (gamblers)
| Financial comfort and concerns NET: Agree or Strongly Agree |
Wave 1 (percentage) |
Wave 2 (percentage) |
Wave 3 (percentage) |
Statistical differences (versus previous wave or total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I am just about managing but feel confident that I’ll be okay | 48% | 48% | 49% | No significant differences |
| At the moment, I am financially comfortable | 41% | 43% | 44% | No significant differences |
| At the moment, I am not concerned about how the cost of living is impacting myself and/or my family | 24% | 27% | 26% | Wave 2 gamblers significantly higher than wave 2 all respondents |
| I have looked at ways I can make my income go further (such as reduce food portion size, buying second-hand goods, and so on) | 62% | 64% | 65% | No significant differences |
| I am concerned about my ability to buy everything I need for myself and/or my family | 39% | 43% | 41% | Wave 2 gamblers significantly lower than wave 2 all respondents |
| I have needed to consider, or have found, additional ways to supplement my income | 30% | 33% | 35% | No significant differences |
| At the moment, I am finding it difficult to manage financially | 32% | 34% | 31% | No significant differences |
Table 1.2 information
Question 6. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Base: Gamblers who took part in wave 1, wave 2, and wave 3 (664, 670 and 666).
Amongst the surveyed gamblers, those who engaged with gambling activities online reported some of highest levels of agreement with concern statements compared to the overall respondents. While agreement with the need ‘to look at ways to make their income go further’ is broadly in line with the remaining respondents in waves 1 and 2 (64 and 70 percent, respectively), agreement increased to 74 percent of online gamblers in wave 3; significantly higher than the overall respondents (65 percent). In wave 2, post-Christmas 2022, half of online gamblers (51 percent) were more likely to be ‘concerned about their ability to buy everything needed for themselves and/or their family’ and remained at this level in wave 3 (50 percent) after the 2023 energy price cap increase. Online gamblers were also more likely to have ‘considered or had found additional ways to supplement their income’ in wave 1 (36 versus 31 percent overall) and in wave 3 (43 versus 35 percent overall). In wave 1, online gamblers were significantly more likely to agree that they were ‘finding it difficult to manage financially’ (36 versus 31 percent overall). However, this remained stable amongst online gamblers throughout tracking, and in line with the overall respondents in waves 2 and 3.
Similar observations to online gamblers were made amongst higher scoring cohorts of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Specifically, those that scored 8 or more PGSI were amongst the most likely to agree that they have ‘looked for ways to make their income go further’, are ‘concerned about their ability to buy everything they need for themselves and/or their family’, ‘have needed to consider, or had found, additional ways to supplement their income’, and that they were ‘finding it difficult to manage financially’.
References
1Social grade is a socio-economic classification (opens in new tab). This is a way of grouping people by type, which is mainly based on their social and financial situation.
Cost of living on gambling behaviour: Summary of findings Next section
Cost of living on gambling behaviour: Impact of increased cost of living on wellbeing
Last updated: 10 October 2023
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