When interpreting the findings, it is important to remember that results are based on a sample of the maintained and independent school population, and not the entire population of 11 to 17 year olds in England, Scotland, and Wales. The survey data reported here has been weighted to ensure the findings are nationally representative of young people at secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales (see appendices for more detail on weighting). Applying weights to the data, while tending to make the quoted figures more representative of the population of interest, also reduces the statistical reliability of the data. Results from any survey are estimates, and there is a margin of error associated with each figure quoted. Essentially, the smaller the sample size, the greater the uncertainty.

Throughout this report, unless specified, findings with sufficient sample sizes have been included and all differences noted between subgroups are significant at the 95 percent significance level. A guide to statistical significance is included in the appendices of the report.

Please note that when different response categories are combined (for example 'strongly agree' and 'agree') then the combined figure may sometimes differ slightly from the total that would be obtained by summing the 2 separate percentage figures. This is due to the rounding of figures to the nearest whole number.

Key terms used in the report

Prior to 2022, young people were asked one question to find out whether they had used their own money to gamble and when they had done so. The development work that took place before the 2022 survey noted that it was cognitively challenging for young people to remember the types of gambling activities they had participated in whilst keeping in mind if, and when, they had spent their own money on these activities.

Taking on board recommendations relating to the questionnaire design, meant that a different approach was adopted in 2022, with 3 questions included in order to understand, firstly, whether a young person had any experience of gambling, secondly, if they had ever gambled using their own money and thirdly, when they did so. As a result, we have 2 possible ways of interpreting gambling behaviour which are referenced throughout this report:

Active involvement in gambling – Young people who spent their own money (defined as any pocket money, birthday money or money they earned themselves) on gambling.

Experience of gambling – Young people who have gambled, but not necessarily spending their own money on doing so. For example, they may have been involved in picking lottery numbers with family or friends or choosing horses in a horse race.

The Gambling Commission regulates gambling operators and key individuals. Regulation is designed to ensure children and young people are unable to gamble on age-restricted products licensed by the Commission. In addition to products licensed by the Commission, this report also covers a number of gambling activities which sit outside the Commission’s remit and are legally available to children and young people. In order to distinguish between these different types of gambling we refer in this report to regulated and unregulated forms of gambling:

Regulated forms of gambling – Those gambling activities which are licensed and regulated by the Commission including betting or casino gaming provided by a licensed operator online or from premises, playing the National Lottery or other lottery products. This categorisation could also include illegal gambling websites which young people are unaware are illegal. This categorisation also includes playing gaming machines in betting shops, bingo premises, casinos or arcades. Due to different categories and requirements relating to gaming machines this report may include some gaming machine play which is not directly regulated by the Commission and in some incidences can be legally played by children and young people.

Unregulated forms of gambling – Those gambling activities which fall outside the remit of the Commission such as non-commercial gambling between friends and family or playing bingo somewhere other than a bingo club.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition - Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) screen was applied to assess whether respondents who gamble are defined as experiencing problems with their gambling. Scores are then grouped into these categories:

young people who have never gambled
young people scoring 0 or 1 on the DSM-IV-MR-J, representing a young person who does not experience any ‘problems’ with their gambling
young people scoring 2 or 3 on the DSM-IV-MR-J, representing a young person who is ‘at-risk’
young people scoring 4 or more on the DSM-IV-MR-J, representing a young person experiencing ‘problems’ with their gambling.

For further information on terms used throughout this report and their definitions see the appendices.

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Acknowledgements

Last updated: 7 November 2024

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Young People and Gambling 2024: Official statistics

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Presentation and interpretation of data

Key terms used in the report

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