Report

Young People and Gambling 2023

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

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Published
16 November 2023

Last updated
16 November 2023 - Changes

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Contents

• Young People and Gambling 2023

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• Executive summary
  • - Introduction
  • - Headline statistics
  • - Presentation and interpretation of data
  • - Acknowledgements
• 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
  • - Summary
  • - Overall gambling experience
  • - Overall gambling experience in the last 12 months
  • - Variations in gambling experience
• The Impact of gambling on young people
  • - Summary
  • - How gambling impacts on relations with friends and family
  • - How gambling makes young people feel
  • - The impact of gambling on sleep
  • - The impact of gambling on spending
  • - The impact of gambling on schoolwork
  • - Experience and impact of family members’ gambling
• Online gambling
  • - Summary
  • - Young people’s active involvement in online gambling
  • - Overall experience of online gambling
  • - Online gambling using parent's or guardian's accounts
  • - Awareness and use of in-game items in video games
  • - Awareness and use of virtual money or tokens to bet on sports matches
• National Lottery play
  • - Summary
  • - Young people’s active involvement with lottery products
  • - Wider experience of lottery games
  • - Buying a National Lottery draw ticket or scratchcard
  • - Who young people are with when playing a National Lottery product
• Games and gaming machines
  • - Summary
  • - Young people’s active involvement in games and gaming machines
  • - Overall experience of games and gaming machines play
  • - Who is with young people when they play gaming machines
  • - Types of gaming machines
  • - Play in an adults-only area
• The Context for gambling participation
  • - Summary
  • - Setting gambling in the context of other risk-taking behaviours
  • - Setting gambling in the context of other activities
  • - Reasons why young people gamble
  • - Why young people do not gamble
  • - Who young people were with when they gambled
• 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
  • - Applying the DSM-IV-MR-J problem gambler screen
  • - Research design
  • - Sample profile
• List of gambling activities and definitions
  • - List of gambling activities
  • - Definitions

Reasons why young people gamble

Most (78 percent) young people who spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months, did so because they regard it as a fun thing to do (Figure 23). This is by far the most common reason given for gambling.

However, the prospect of winning money is a key driver for some young people: Over one third (35 percent) gambled because they felt they had a good chance of winning something (even if not a big prize), while one quarter (25 percent) said they gambled because they thought they could win a jackpot or big prize. Almost one third (32 percent) said they gambled with the intention of winning money.

For three in ten (29 percent) young people, their reason for gambling was the simplicity of the games they played. A similar proportion cited that it gave them something to do (28 percent).

Figure 23: Thinking about when you have spent your money on... in the last 12 months, why did you do this?

Figure 23 information

GC_SPENDWHY. Thinking about when you have spent your money on ... in the past 12 months, why did you do this?
Base: All 11 to 17 year olds (answering) who spent their own money in the last 12 months on... (879).
Note: This is a multiple response question, so the responses shown will not add up to 100 percent

Figure 23: Thinking about when you have spent your money on... in the last 12 months, why did you do this?

Reasons for gambling – top ten responses	Percentage (multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Because it's fun	78%
I have a good chance of winning something (even if not a big prize or jackpot)	35%
To try to win money	32%
The games are simple to play	29%
It gives me something to do	28%
I have a chance to win a jackpot or big prize	25%
To get a buzz and/or because it is exciting	21%
Because I like to take risks	19%
Because it helps me and/or cheers me up when I feel down, nervous or in a bad mood	14%
Because it's cool	12%

Previous section
Setting gambling in the context of other activities Next section
Why young people do not gamble

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Last updated: 16 November 2023

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