Report
Young People and Gambling 2025: Official statistics
Gambling Commission report produced by Ipsos on young people and their gambling behaviour, attitudes and awareness in 2025.
Contents
- Executive summary
- Wider experience of gambling
-
- Summary
- Wider experience and active involvement in gambling
- Experience of different categories of gambling activities
- Experience of different types of gambling activities
- Who young people were with when they gambled
- Being stopped from gambling for being too young
- Gambling in the context of what young people do in their spare time
- Gambling in the context of other risk taking behaviours
- Active involvement in gambling and experience of problem gambling
- Trends in gambling behaviours: 2022 to 2025
- Young people’s exposure to gambling
- The impact of gambling on young people
- Gambling activities and gaming
- Perspectives on gambling: Awareness, attitudes and behaviours
- Appendices
Reasons why young people gamble
Around 4 in 5 young people (78 percent) who spent their own money gambling in the last 12 months did so because they regard it as ‘fun’. This is, by far, the most common reason given for active gambling. Just over a third of young people gambled because they felt they had a good chance of winning something (36 percent) or to try to win money (34 percent).
Around 3 in 10 (31 percent) young people indicated that they gambled because the games are simple to play. A slightly smaller proportion cited that it gave them something to do (29 percent) or gambled because they felt they had a chance of winning a jackpot or big prize (28 percent).
According to the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) 2024, adults predominantly gamble ‘for the chance to win big money’ (85 percent). However, those aged 18 to 24 who participated in the adult survey were more likely to gamble for fun (83 percent), much like 11 to 17 year olds.
For more detail, please refer to Figure 2.2
Figure 2.2: Reasons why young people gamble within the past 12 months
Figure 2.2 information
GC_SPENDWHY. Thinking about when you have spent your money on [gambling activity], why did you do this?
Base: All participants (answering) who spent their own money in the last 12 months on… 2025 (1,108).
Note: this is a multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent.
| Reasons why young people gamble | 2025 (percentage) (this is a multiple response question; therefore, answers do not sum to 100 percent) |
|---|---|
| Because it is fun | 78% |
| I have a good chance of winning something (even if not a big prize or jackpot) | 36% |
| To try to win money | 34% |
| The games are simple to play | 31% |
| It gives me something to do | 29% |
| I have a chance to win a jackpot or big prize | 28% |
| Because I like to take risks | 23% |
| To get a buzz or because it is exciting | 22% |
| Because it is cool | 15% |
| It helps me or cheers me up when I feel down, nervous or in a bad mood | 13% |
| It's something my parents or guardians do | 9% |
| Money goes to good causes | 9% |
| It is something my friends do or I do not want to feel left out | 7% |
Overall, there was no significant change in young people’s motivations across any of the categories (see Table 2.3) for gambling compared with the findings from the 2024 survey.
Table 2.3: Reasons why young people gamble 2024 to 2025
GC_SPENDWHY: Thinking about when you have spent your money on [gambling activity], why did you do this?
Base: All answering who spent their own money in the last 12 months on... 2024 (1,015), 2025 (1,108).
Note: This is a multiple response questions, therefore answers do not sum to 100 percent.
| Reasons for gambling | 2024 (percentage) (multiple response question, therefore, answers do not sum to 100 percent) |
2025 (percentage) (multiple response question, therefore, answers do not sum to 100 percent) |
Statistical difference 2025 compared with 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Because it is fun | 80% | 78% | No significant difference |
| I have a good chance of winning something (even if not a big prize or jackpot) | 37% | 36% | No significant difference |
| To try to win money | 34% | 34% | No significant difference |
| The games are simple to play | 33% | 31% | No significant difference |
| It gives me something to do | 29% | 29% | No significant difference |
| I have a chance to win a jackpot or big prize | 29% | 28% | No significant difference |
| Because I like to take risks | 23% | 23% | No significant difference |
| To get a buzz or because it is exciting | 22% | 22% | No significant difference |
| Because it is cool | 17% | 15% | No significant difference |
| It helps me or cheers me up when I feel down, nervous or in a bad mood | 13% | 13% | No significant difference |
| It is something my parents or guardians do | 10% | 9% | No significant difference |
| Money goes to good causes | 10% | 9% | No significant difference |
| It is something my friends do or I do not want to feel left out | 10% | 7% | Significant decrease |
Reasons for gambling: Demographic profile
Reasons for gambling in the last 12 months, among young people who spent their own money, differed most notably by gender. For instance, girls were more likely than boys to say they spend their money on playing arcade games because it is fun (84 percent, compared with 78 percent). In contrast, boys were more likely than girls to play arcade games because they have a good chance of winning a jackpot or big prize (31 percent, compared with 23 percent) or to try to win something (33 percent, compared with 27 percent).
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Last updated: 13 November 2025
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