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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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Contents

Setting gambling in the context of other activities

Young people were also asked about the types of activities they most like to do in their spare time. When asked to indicate the three activities they like to do most, listening to music (40 percent) and meeting up with friends (39 percent) were most frequently mentioned.

However, the use of devices shapes the way in which many young people spend their free time, with three in ten (30 percent) playing games on their phone, iPad, laptop or on a console. For boys it is the most popular activity, with 47 percent playing games on devices in their spare time, compared with just 12 percent of girls. The youngest group in the survey, 11 to 13 year olds, are more likely to report spending time on playing games on devices (33 percent, compared with 30 percent overall).

The most popular activity mentioned by girls was listening to music (48 percent, compared with 31 percent of boys). Girls were also more likely to report spending time on social media than boys (32 percent, compared with 21 percent of boys). Overall, over a quarter of young people (26 percent) felt that spending time on social media was the activity that they liked to do most in their free time.

Spending time with the family (25 percent), taking part in team sports (21 percent) and chatting on the phone with friends (19 percent) were other activities which made it into the list of top ten popular activities, as shown in Figure 22.

Just 2 percent of young people reported spending time watching others play esports online, with boys being more likely to take part in this activity (3 percent). While 1 percent of young people reported spending time taking part in fantasy football leagues, again with boys being more likely to take part in this activity (2 percent).

Figure 22: In your spare time, what are the things that you like to do most - Top ten responses

bar chart showing the top ten activities young people like to do in their spare time. Data from the chart is provided within the following table.

Figure 22 information

GC_SPARE. In your spare time, what are the things that you like to do most?
Base: All 11 to 17 year olds answering (3,442)
Note: Multiple response question so the percentages in the chart and table do not sum to 100 percent

Figure 22: Participation in risk-taking behaviours in past 12 months (active involvement).
Spare time activities – top ten responses Percentage (multiple response question, answers do not sum to 100 percent)
Listening to music 40%
Meeting up with friends 39%
Playing games on my phone, iPad, laptop or console 30%
Spending time on social media 26%
Spending time with family 25%
Taking part in team sports 21%
Chatting on the phone with friends 19%
Exercising and/or keeping fit 18%
Shopping 13%
Watching programmes on TV and/or streaming services 13%
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Setting gambling in the context of other risk-taking behaviours Next section
Reasons why young people gamble
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