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
Impact of increased cost of living on wellbeing
In this section, we analyse the effect of the cost of living on wellbeing. Respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed to a series of statements relating to wellbeing.
Overall, levels of agreement with wellbeing statements remained stable throughout tracking.
The greatest proportion of respondents agreed that ‘they know their personal situations are better than others and feel grateful’ (71 percent wave-on-wave). Between 35 and 38 percent felt that ‘the cost of living crisis had not impacted their wellbeing’. A smaller proportion reported that ‘they were optimistic that things will get better in 2023’ and while not significant, agreement with this statement gradually increased over tracking (26 percent, 28 percent, and 30 percent; wave 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Individuals who agreed with some or all of these more optimistic wellbeing statements were most likely to be between the ages of 18 and 24 or 65 years old and older. A split amongst social grades was also observed, with those from the A or D socio-economic grades2 being most likely to agree with these statements.
However, just under half of respondents (45 percent) reported ‘not being able to enjoy the things that they used to due to the rising cost of living’, which increased to half in wave 2 (49 percent) as the only significant shift in agreement amongst wellbeing statements. Agreement with this statement remained stable in wave 3 (47 percent).
Between 32 and 35 percent also agreed that ‘they were worried that their financial situation was not sustainable for much longer’ and that they felt a degree of helplessness in resolving their current financial situation’ (between 33 and 34 percent). In addition, between 28 and 31 percent felt that ‘their financial situation was having a negative impact on their mental health’. Those reporting greater levels of agreement with statements around negative impacts on wellbeing tend to be women, aged between 35 years old and 55 years old and on a D or E social grade. Additionally, those scoring 8 or more in the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), are more likely to report a negative impact of the cost of living on their wellbeing.
Table 2.1: Agreement with wellbeing statements (all respondents)
| Cost of living and wellbeing NET: Agree or Strongly Agree |
Wave 1 (percentage) |
Wave 2 (percentage) |
Wave 3 (percentage) |
Statistical differences (versus previous wave) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I know my personal situation is better than others and feel grateful | 71% | 71% | 71% | No significant differences |
| The cost of living crisis has not negatively impacted my wellbeing | 38% | 35% | 35% | No significant differences |
| I am optimistic that things are going to get better in 2023 | 26% | 28% | 30% | No significant differences |
| I have not been able to enjoy the things I used to due to the rising cost of living | 45% | 49% | 47% | Wave 2 significantly higher than wave 1 |
| I'm worried that my financial situation is not sustainable for much longer | 34% | 35% | 32% | No significant differences |
| I feel a degree of helplessness in resolving my current financial situation | 33% | 34% | 33% | No significant differences |
| My financial situation is having a negative impact on my mental health | 28% | 31% | 30% | No significant differences |
Table 2.1 information
Question 8. And which of the following statements, if any, describe some of your feelings towards the current cost of living?
Base: Total sample who took part in wave 1, wave 2, and wave 3 (1,391).
As with observations amongst all respondents, gamblers are most likely to have agreed that ‘their personal situation is better than others and feel grateful’ (between 70 and 71 percent).
Conversely, gamblers reported being significantly more ‘optimistic that things are going to be better in 2023’ in wave 1 and wave 3 compared to all respondents (31 and 33 percent versus 26 and 30 percent, respectively). However, levels of agreement with this statement amongst gamblers remained stable across tracking.
Agreement with being ‘worried that my financial situation is not sustainable for much longer’ was stable across waves amongst gamblers and in line with the remaining sample, there was a gradual decline in agreement ranging from just over 36 percent to 31 percent.
This was also seen with online gamblers in wave 2, post-Christmas 2022. A peak of 41 percent was ‘worried that their financial situation was not sustainable for much longer’. This was significantly greater than the overall respondents.
In wave 3, notably after the May 2023 energy price cap increase, 38 percent ‘felt a degree of helplessness’, significantly more than all respondents (33 percent), despite higher optimism in line with the overall sample – between 67 and 69 percent ‘felt grateful that their personal situation was better than others’ and between 27 and 33 percent felt ‘optimistic that their situation would get better in 2023.
Gamblers’ agreement with all other wellbeing statements have remained stable in line with all respondents throughout tracking.
Table 2.2: Agreement with wellbeing statements (gamblers)
| Cost of living and wellbeing NET: Agree or Strongly Agree |
Wave 1 (percentage) |
Wave 2 (percentage) |
Wave 3 (percentage) |
Statistical differences (versus previous wave or total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I know my personal situation is better than others and feel grateful | 71% | 70% | 71% | No significant differences |
| The cost of living crisis has not negatively impacted my wellbeing | 39% | 36% | 38% | No significant differences |
| I am optimistic that things are going to get better in 2023 | 31% | 31% | 33% | Wave 1 gamblers significantly higher than all respondents Wave 3 gamblers significantly higher than all respondents |
| I have not been able to enjoy the things I used to due to the rising cost of living | 46% | 49% | 48% | No significant differences |
| I'm worried that my financial situation is not sustainable for much longer | 36% | 34% | 31% | No significant differences |
| I feel a degree of helplessness in resolving my current financial situation | 34% | 34% | 32% | No significant differences |
| My financial situation is having a negative impact on my mental health | 29% | 30% | 30% | No significant differences |
Table 2.2 information
Question 8. And which of the following statements, if any, describe some of your feelings towards the current cost of living?
Base: Gamblers who took part in wave 1, wave 2, and wave 3 (664, 670 and 666).
While they share similar sentiments about the impact of cost of living on wellbeing to the overall respondents and gamblers more broadly, online gamblers have been observed to be more likely to agree with certain statements at different points in tracking.
This optimism in wave 1 seems to be led by online gamblers with 31 percent reporting feeling more ‘optimistic that things are going to be better in 2023’ than overall respondents. However, online gambler agreement with this statement was stable across waves and fell in line with the average in waves 2 and 3.
References
2Social 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: Financial comfort and concerns around cost of living Next section
Cost of living on gambling behaviour: Impact of cost of living on gambling behaviours
Last updated: 10 October 2023
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