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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.

Published
10 November 2022

Last updated
9 November 2022 - Changes

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Contents

Variations in active involvement in types of gambling activities

There were some differences by gender and age in the types of gambling activities that young people chose to spend their own money on in the last 12 months:

  • girls were more likely than boys to spend their own money on arcade games such as penny pusher or claw grab machines (24 percent compared with 20 percent)
  • boys were more likely, than girls, to use their own money to place a bet on esports (3 percent compared with less than one percent).

Older age groups (14 to 16 year olds) were more likely to have spent money on unregulated forms of gambling in the last 12 months (20 percent compared with 17 percent of 13 year olds), notably playing cards for money with friends or family (6 percent of 14 to 16 year olds compared with 4 percent of 12 year olds). It is worth bearing in mind that this may simply reflect the likelihood that young people in the older age groups were more likely to have access to their own money.

As already noted, young people who had seen family members gamble were more likely to have spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months, than those who had not seen a family member gamble. This holds true for both regulated (36 percent compared with 16 percent) and unregulated forms of gambling (31 percent compared with 12 percent). This difference is highlighted in scenarios where family members would be present such as placing a bet for money between family and friends (25 percent compared with 10 percent) or playing arcade gaming machines (33 percent compared with 16 percent). As shown in the section on Games and Gaming machines, when playing arcade gaming machines, the majority (89 percent) of young people were with someone, typically a parent or guardian (57 percent).

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Prevalence of non-problem, at risk or problem gambling
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