Report
Young People and Gambling 2023
Gambling Commission report produced by Ipsos on young people and their gambling behaviour, attitudes and awareness in 2023.
Contents
- Executive summary
-
Young people’s active involvement in gambling
- - Summary
- - Young people's active involvement in gambling
- - Variations in active involvement in gambling
- - Variations in active involvement in types of gambling activities
- - Prevalence of non-problem, at risk or problem gambling
- - Problem gambling by gender
- - Problem gambling by age
- - Problem gambling by ethnicity
- Experience of gambling
- The Impact of gambling on young people
- Online gambling
- National Lottery play
- Games and gaming machines
- The Context for gambling participation
-
Attitudes towards and exposure to gambling
- - Summary
- - Young people's views on gambling
- - Feeling informed about gambling
- - Being stopped from gambling
- - Young people's exposure to gambling adverts and promotions and frequency of exposure
- - Content of gambling adverts and promotions seen
- - Whether ever prompted to gamble by adverts and promotions
- - Following gambling companies on social media
- Appendices
- List of gambling activities and definitions
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.
Throughout this section we make comparisons to 2022 data. However, it should be noted that while the 2023 sample included year 12 pupils and independent schools, these were not included in the 2022 sample and therefore any differences between the two years are indicative only.
Arcade gaming machines, such as penny pushers or claw grab machines, continue to be the most common type of gambling activity for young people. One in five (19 percent) 11 to 17 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, four in ten (40 percent) 11 to 17 year olds have experienced gambling activities in the last 12 months, with three in ten (30 percent) playing on arcade gaming machines.
Young people were typically with someone when they played on arcade gaming machines (90 percent) or fruit and slot machines (82 percent), and most (79 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 years old or over.
Young people’s active involvement in games and gaming machines
Last updated: 16 November 2023
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