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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.

Contents


Young people’s active involvement in games and gaming machines

One in five (19 percent) young people had spent their own money on playing arcade gaming machines such as penny pushers or claw grab machines in the last 12 months, the most popular gambling activity to be involved in. This is more prevalent amongst young people from white ethnic groups (21 percent) than young people from black or other ethnic backgrounds (13 percent).

In the same time period, 3 percent of young people had spent their own money on playing fruit or slot machines and less than 1 percent had spent their own money playing gambling machines in a betting shop.

While there has been a 3 percentage point decrease in the amount of young people spending their own money on playing arcade games such as penny pushers or claw grab games in comparison to 2022, it remains the most popular gambling activity for young people to be involved in. There has also been a decrease in prevalence of young people from white ethnic groups spending money on arcade gaming machines in comparison to 2022 (25 percent), they still however remain more likely than respondents from black and other ethnic groups to engage in this activity.

The amount of young people who had spent their own money on playing fruit or slot machines and had spent their own money playing gambling machines in a betting shop remains unchanged in comparison to 2022 (3 percent and less than 1 percent respectively).

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Overall experience of games and gaming machines play
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