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
- - 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
- List of gambling activities and definitions
How gambling impacts on relations with friends and family
Young people who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months were asked how gambling had impacted on their relationship with their friends and family. Throughout this section a combination figure for ‘sometimes’, ‘often’, or ‘all of the time’ has been used to the report the impact that gambling can have, unless specified otherwise.
Just over one in ten young people (10 percent) said that their own gambling had led them to talk to their parents about how they felt at least sometimes. Five percent of all young people said it had happened all of the time
Just over one in twenty (6 percent) 11 to 17 year olds who were actively involved with gambling in the last 12 months stated that gambling had made them uncomfortable around their friends, such as feeling embarrassed or feeling friends would not approve, at least sometimes. Just 2 percent felt uncomfortable all the time.
Figure 5: The impact that young people’s gambling has on family and friends
Figure 5 information
GA_GAMLEDTLK GA_GAMLEDCOM. Thinking about the last 12 months, how often, if at all, has your own gambling led you to...
Base: All 11 to 17 year olds answering who have spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months 'Talk to your parents about how you feel' (817). 'Not feel comfortable around your friends' (813).
| The impact that young people’s gambling has on family and friends | Percentage who never | Percentage who rarely | Percentage who sometimes | Percentage who often | Percentage who all the time | Percentage who don't know |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not feel comfortable around friends (such as feeling embarrassed, or feeling friends would not approve) | 80% | 3% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 10% |
| Talk to your parents about how you feel | 77% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 5% | 10% |
Those young people defined as ‘at risk’ by the youth adapted problem gambling screen Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition - Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) were significantly more likely than all responders and those deemed to be ‘non-problem’ gamblers to talk to their parents about how they feel. However, due to a low sample size for these groups this is indicative only.
There were no other significant differences by age, gender and ethnicity.
Those young people defined as ‘at risk’ were significantly more likely than all responders and those deemed to be ‘non-problem’ gamblers to say that gambling had made them uncomfortable around their friends (22.6 percent compared to 4.2 percent of ‘non problem’ gamblers). The latter group were significantly more likely to say that gambling never made them feel uncomfortable around their friends. However, again due to small base sizes findings for those ‘at risk’ are indicative only.
Further, those aged 13 years old were more likely than all respondents to say that gambling made them uncomfortable around their friends (10 percent compared to 6 percent).
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How gambling makes young people feel
Last updated: 16 November 2023
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