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Report

Young People and Gambling 2022: Official statistics

Gambling Commission report produced by Ipsos on young people and their gambling behaviour, attitudes and awareness in 2022.

Contents


Summary

This section reviews active involvement in and experience with games and gaming machines in the last 12 months. Highlighting who young people are with, the most popular forms of gaming machine and experience of play in adults-only areas of venues such as holiday parks and arcades.

Summary

As shown throughout the report, arcade gaming machines, such as penny pushers or claw grab machines, are the most common type of gambling activity for young people. Over one in five (22 percent) 11 to 16 year olds spent their own money on playing arcade gaming machines in the last 12 months. A further 3 percent had spent their own money on playing fruit or slot machines, at an arcade, pub, or social club, over the same period.

To put this in context, half (50 percent) of 11 to 16 year olds have experienced gambling activities in the last 12 months, with over a third (35 percent) playing on arcade gaming machines.

Young people were typically with someone when they played on arcade gaming machines (89 percent) or fruit and slot machines (80 percent), rather than being alone (5 percent) and most (81 percent) had no experience of playing on arcade gaming machines in an adults-only area in an amusement arcade or holiday park, or somewhere with a sign or sticker saying '18 or over'.

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Young people’s active involvement in games and gaming machines
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