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Report

Young People and Gambling 2023: Official statistics

Gambling Commission report produced by Ipsos on young people and their gambling behaviour, attitudes and awareness in 2023.

Published
16 November 2023

Last updated
16 November 2023 - Changes

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Young people's views on gambling

Young people were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with statements about gambling and provided with a prompted list to remind them of the activities included in the definition of ‘gambling’ for the purposes of the survey. Most young people felt that gambling was dangerous (64 percent).

Those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups were more likely to feel that gambling is dangerous (69 percent) compared to those from white ethnic groups (63 percent). Young people who had not seen family members gamble were more likely to feel that it was dangerous (71 percent), than those who had seen family members gamble (58 percent).

Only a minority of 11 to 17 year olds appeared to support young people being able to gamble. Around one in ten agreed that it is okay for people their age to gamble to see what it’s like (14 percent) and that it was okay for someone their age to gamble once a week (8 percent). Even fewer young people agreed that most people their age gambled (7 percent).

In comparison to 2022, the proportion of young people who agreed that gambling is dangerous increased by 6 percentage points amongst those from ethnic minority groups. There has also been a 2 percentage point increase in young people agreeing that it is okay for someone their age to try to gamble to see what it’s like (from 12 percent), and a 2 percentage point increase in young people agreeing that it’s okay for others their age to gamble once a week (6 percent in 2022).

Figure 26: Young people’s views on gambling

A chart showing a scale of agreement around young people's views on gambling from 'Gambling is dangerous' to 'It is OK for someone my age to gamble once a week'. Data from the chart is provided within the following table.

Figure 26 information

GC_ATTMOST GC_ATTDANG GC_ATTOKONCE GC_ATTOKTRY. Thinking about gambling for money, how strongly do you agree or disagree with the statements below?
Base: All participants answering 'Most people my age gamble' (2,671). 'Gambling is dangerous' (2,667). 'I feel well informed about the risks of gambling' (2,667). 'It is OK for someone my age to try to gamble to see what it’s like' (2,660). 'It is OK for someone my age to gamble once a week' (2,660). 'People have spoken to me about the potential problems that gambling can lead to' (2,665).

Figure 26: Young people’s views on gambling.
Young people’s views on gambling Percentage who strongly agree Percentage who agree Percentage who neither agree or disagree Percentage who disagree Percentage who strongly disagree Percentage who do not know
Gambling is dangerous 25% 39% 19% 4% 2% 11%
It is OK for someone my age to try to gamble to see what it’s like 4% 10% 24% 29% 19% 15%
Most people my age gamble 4% 4% 15% 33% 18% 27%
It is OK for someone my age to gamble once a week 3% 4% 15% 33% 30% 14%

Young people with active involvement in gambling with their own money in the seven days leading up to the survey were, perhaps unsurprisingly, more likely to agree that most people their age gamble (19 percent, compared with 7 percent overall), accept that it is okay for someone their age to gamble to see what it is like (34 percent, compared with 14 percent overall ) and to gamble once a week (24 percent, compared with 8 percent overall). Acceptance of gambling is higher amongst those aged 16 years old than those aged 11 to 13 years old, with 20 percent of 16 year olds agreeing that it is okay for someone their age to try gambling, compared to 12 percent of 11 to 13 year olds. 16 percent of 17 year olds agree that it is okay for someone their age to try gambling, indicating that while acceptance of gambling is higher for 16 year olds, acceptance of gambling does not necessarily increase with age.

Young people who have observed family members gambling were more likely to have felt that most people their age gamble (10 percent, compared with 5 percent of those who have not seen family members gamble) and they were more likely to agree that it is okay to try gambling to see what it is like (24 percent, compared with 10 percent of those who have not seen anyone in their family gamble).

Compared to 2022, the percentage who agreed that most people their age gamble increased by 4 percentage points for young people who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 7 days (to 19 percent from 15 percent). There was also a 5 percentage point increase for those who agreed that it is okay for other young people to try gambling to see what it is like for young people who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 7 days (to 34 percent from 29 percent). Additionally, the proportion who agree that it is okay to try gambling to see what it is like has increased by 4 percentage points for young people who have observed family members gambling (from 24 percent to 20 percent).

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