Report

Young People and Gambling 2024: Official statistics

Gambling Commission report produced by Ipsos on young people and their gambling behaviour, attitudes and awareness in 2024.

---

Published
7 November 2024

Last updated
7 November 2024 - Changes

Document actions
Print or save (opens in new tab)

Contents

• Young People and Gambling 2024: Official statistics

---

• Executive summary
• • Introduction
  • Headline statistics
  • Presentation and interpretation of data
  • Acknowledgements
• Young people’s active involvement in gambling
• • Summary
  • Definitions
  • Young people's active involvement in gambling
  • The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition – Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) problem gambling screen
• The impacts of gambling on young people
• • Summary
  • The impact of gambling on relationships
  • Young people’s feelings when gambling
  • The impact of gambling on young people’s engagement with school and homework
  • The impact of gambling on young people’s sleep
  • The impact of gambling on spending
  • Experience of ever seeing a family member gambling
  • The impact of family members’ gambling on young people
• Wider experience of gambling
• • Summary
  • Wider experience and active involvement in gambling
  • Experience of different gambling activities
  • Who young people were with when they experienced gambling activities
  • Being stopped from gambling for being too young
  • Setting gambling in the context of other risk taking behaviours
• Games and gaming machines
• • Summary
  • Young people spending their own money on games and gaming machines
  • Overall experience of playing games and gaming machines
  • Who young people were with when they played gaming machines
  • Types of gaming machine played
  • Playing arcade machines in adults-only areas
• Online gambling
• • Summary
  • Young people’s active involvement in online gambling
  • Overall experience of online gambling
  • Online gambling using parents’ or guardians’ accounts
  • Paying for and betting with in-game items in video games
  • Methods of paying for in-game items and to open loot boxes
• Lotteries and lottery style games
• • Summary
  • Active involvement with lotteries and lottery style games
  • Wider experience of lotteries and lottery style games
  • Buying a National Lottery draw ticket or scratchcard
  • Who young people were with when playing lotteries and lottery style games
• Attitudes towards gambling and reasons for gambling
• • Summary
  • Reasons why young people gamble
  • Reasons why young people do not gamble
  • Feeling informed about gambling
• Recall of gambling adverts and promotion
• • Summary
  • Recall of gambling advertising or promotions
  • Frequency of seeing or hearing gambling adverts or promotions
  • Perceived impact of gambling adverts on unplanned spending
  • Engagement with gambling related content on social media and streaming platforms
• Appendices
• • Applying the DSM-IV-MR-J youth adapted problem gambling screen
  • Research design
  • Sample profile
• List of gambling activities and definitions
• • List of gambling activities
  • Definitions

Playing arcade machines in adults-only areas

Young people who had ever played arcade gaming machines were asked if they had ever done so in an adults-only area, for example an adults (18 years old or above) only section of an amusement arcade, bowling alley, holiday park or pub.

1 in 10 young people with experience of arcade gaming machines reported having played a machine within an adults-only area (10 percent), compared to 8 in 10 who had not (80 percent), and a further 1 in 10 who did not know (10 percent).

Boys were more likely than girls to note having played arcade machines within an adults-only area (13 percent, compared to 6 percent). There were no statistically significant differences by age or ethnic background, though young people who had seen other family members gamble were more likely than those who had not to report having played an arcade machine within an adults-only area (15 percent, compared with 6 percent).

Table 4.3: Playing arcade machines in an adults-only area

Table 4.3 information

GC_FRUITWHERE. As far as you know, have you ever played on any of these machines in an adults-only area. For example, an adult (18 years old or above) only section of an amusement arcade, bowling alley, holiday park or pub.
Base: All answering who have played ‘Arcade gaming machines’ or ‘Fruit and/or slot machines’ (1,687).

Table 4.3: Playing arcade machines in an adults-only area

Playing arcade gaming machines in an adults-only area	2024 (percentage)
Yes	10%
No	80%
Do not know	10%

There are no statistically significant differences across the past 3 years in the proportions of young people playing arcade gaming machines in adults-only areas.

Previous section
Types of gaming machine played

---

Last updated: 7 November 2024

Show updates to this content

No changes to show.