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.

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Published
13 November 2025

Last updated
13 November 2025 - Changes

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Contents

• Young People and Gambling 2025: Official statistics

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• Executive summary
• • Introduction
  • Headline statistics
  • Presentation and interpretation of data
  • Key terms used in the report
  • Acknowledgements
• 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
• • Summary
  • Definitions
  • Young people's active involvement in gambling
  • Reasons why young people gamble
  • The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition – Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) screen
• Trends in gambling behaviours: 2022 to 2025
• • Summary
  • Experience of gambling 2022 to 2025
  • Active involvement in gambling 2022 to 2025
  • Trends in the DSM-IV-MR-J screen
• Young people’s exposure to gambling
• • 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
  • The role of influencers in advertising gambling-related content
• The impact of gambling on young people
• • Summary
  • Experience of ever seeing a family member gambling
  • Impact of seeing a family member gamble
  • The impact of gambling on school attendance
  • The impact of gambling on relationships
• Gambling activities and gaming
• • Summary
  • Overall experience of playing games and gaming machines
  • Types of gaming machine played
  • Playing arcade machines in adults-only areas
  • Who young people were with in an adult-only area
  • Online gambling
  • National Lottery play
  • Gaming
• Perspectives on gambling: Awareness, attitudes and behaviours
• • Summary
  • Feeling informed about gambling
  • Speaking to someone about gambling problems
  • Reasons why young people do not gamble
  • Young people who consider themselves risk-takers
• Appendices
• • The DSM-IV-MR-J problem gambler screen
  • Research design
  • List of gambling activities and definitions

List of gambling activities and definitions

List of gambling activities

The survey contained 4 questions which were designed to identify gambling experience and establish rates of active involvement in gambling among young people during the past 7 days, 4 weeks, 12 months and more than 12 months ago.

All young people were asked whether they had ever experienced a range of 17 gambling activities shown in a list. For each activity they had ever experienced, they were then asked when they last did so, whether they had spent their own money on it and when they last spent their own money.

The list of gambling activities which formed the basis of the gambling prevalence questions is shown in Table A.10.

Table A.10: List of gambling activities

The list of gambling activities are:

• National Lottery draw for example Lotto, EuroMillions or Set for Life, either with a physical ticket or playing online
• National Lottery Scratchcards (not free Scratchcards)
• National Lottery online instant win games
• other Lotteries (for example The Health Lottery, People’s Postcode Lottery, or other smaller lotteries)
• arcade gaming machines (for example penny pusher or claw grab machine)
• fruit or slot machines (for example at an arcade, pub or social club)
• gambling machines in a betting shop
• cards for money (for example with friends or family)
• bingo at a bingo club
• bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club (for example social club or holiday park)
• bingo online (for example Foxy Bingo, Gala Bingo or Tombola)
• bet for money between friends or family
• bet on esports (electronic sports such as playing video games competitively) online
• bet at a betting shop or bookies (for example on football or horse racing)
• bet on a betting website and/or app (for example on football or horse racing)
• game inside a casino in real life, not online
• online game on a casino website (for example online poker or online roulette for money).

Definitions

Table A.11 provides definitions for terms referenced throughout the report.

Table A.11: Definitions of terms used within the report

Gambling

For the purpose of this study 'gambling’ includes things like buying Lottery tickets, placing a private bet, playing cards for money and playing on fruit machines.

Active involvement in gambling

Young people who participated in the survey were first asked if they had ever done any of the following list of 17 activities:

• National Lottery draw for example Lotto, EuroMillions or Set for Life, either with a physical ticket or playing online
• National Lottery Scratchcards (not free Scratchcards)
• National Lottery online instant win games
• other Lotteries (for example The Health Lottery, People’s Postcode Lottery, or other smaller lotteries)
• arcade gaming machines (for example penny pusher or claw grab machine)
• fruit or slot machines (for example at an arcade, pub or social club)
• gambling machines in a betting shop
• cards for money (for example with friends or family)
• bingo at a bingo club
• bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club (for example social club or holiday park)
• bingo online (for example Foxy Bingo, Gala Bingo or Tombola)
• bet for money between friends or family
• bet on esports (electronic sports such as playing video games competitively) online
• bet at a betting shop or bookies (for example on football or horse racing)
• bet on a betting website and/or app (for example on football or horse racing)
• game inside a casino in real life, not online
• online game on a casino website (for example online poker or online roulette for money).

Those who selected at least one of these activities were then asked if they had ever spent their own money on these activities, with ‘own money’ noted as meaning pocket money, birthday money or any money they earned themselves or got as a reward. Those who had spent their own money on at least one of the 17 listed activities were asked when they last spent their own money on the activities. Those who cited having spent their own money on any of these activities within the last 12 months are defined as being actively involved in gambling.

Experience of gambling

Young people who had ever done any of the 17 gambling activities previously listed, but not necessarily spending their own money on doing so, are described as having some experience of gambling.

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.

Lotteries or lottery style games

Includes National Lottery draws (for example Lotto, EuroMillions or Set for Life) either with a physical ticket or playing online, National Lottery Scratchcards (not free Scratchcards), National Lottery online instant win games, and Other Lotteries (for example The Health Lottery, People’s Postcode Lottery, or other smaller lotteries).

Experience of lotteries and lottery style games

Includes both spending their own money to play lotteries and lottery style games, as well as experiencing without spending their own money, which might potentially include picking lottery numbers for others or scratching off the numbers on someone else’s ticket or card.

Games and gaming machines

Includes arcade gaming machines (for example penny pusher or claw grab machine), fruit or slot machines (for example at an arcade, pub or social club), gambling machines in a betting shop, and cards for money (for example with friends or family).

Bingo

Includes bingo at a bingo club, bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club (for example social club, holiday park), and bingo online (for example Foxy Bingo, Gala Bingo or Tombola).

Placing a bet

Includes activities such as placing a bet for money between friends or family, placing a bet on eSports (electronic sports such as playing video games competitively) online, placing a bet at a betting shop or bookies (for example on football or horse racing), and placing a bet on a betting website and/or app (for example on football or horse racing).

Casino games

Includes playing a game inside a casino and playing casino games online (for example online poker or online roulette for money).

Accessing adults-only areas

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

In-game items

Skins are one example of in-game items which can be won or bought within a video game to change the appearance of a character, avatar or weapon. On some websites (separate to the game itself), players can trade, bet on and sell their skins in exchange for cash. This is called skins gambling. One commonly used method for players to acquire in-game items is through in-game payments to open loot boxes which contain an unknown quantity and value of in-game items. The use of features which include expenditure and chance has led to concern that loot boxes are akin to gambling. The Commission’s view on skins gambling, loot boxes and related issues is as set out in the position paper published in March 2017 - Virtual currencies Esports and social casino gaming.

Previous section
Research design

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Last updated: 13 November 2025

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