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
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- 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
Perceived impact of gambling adverts on unplanned spending
Young people who recalled having seen a gambling-related advert or promotion were asked if these adverts or promotions had ever prompted them to spend money on gambling that they were not otherwise planning to. One in fourteen young people (7 percent) noted that they had been prompted by these adverts to spend money on gambling.
Figure 4.3: The perceived impact of adverts on unplanned spending on gambling within the past 12 months
Figure 4.3 information
GC_ADSPEND. Have adverts or promotion about gambling ever prompted you to spend money on gambling when you were not otherwise planning to?
Base: All participants answering who have seen and/or heard any gambling adverts or promotions 2025 (2,846).
| The impact of gambling advertisements on unplanned spending | 2025 (percentage) |
|---|---|
| Yes | 7% |
| No | 82% |
| Do not know | 10% |
There were no differences by gender, age or ethnicity in terms of whether young people felt they had been prompted to spend money on gambling after seeing or hearing an advert. However, young people who considered themselves to be risk-takers were more likely to feel they had been influenced by gambling-related adverts (13 percent, compared with 4 percent). Additionally, young people who had seen a family member gamble were more likely than those who had not seen a family member gamble to feel they had been influenced by gambling-related adverts (11 percent, compared with 5 percent).
There has been no overall change since 2024 in the proportion of young people who were prompted to spend money on gambling after seeing and/or hearing an advert, as shown in Table 4.3.
Table 4.3: The perceived impact of adverts on unplanned spending on gambling 2024 to 2025
GC_ADSPEND. Have adverts or promotion about gambling ever prompted you to spend money on gambling when you were not otherwise planning to?
Base: All answering who have seen and/or heard any gambling adverts or promotions 2024 (2,592), 2025 (2,846).
| Response | 2024 (percentage) | 2025 (percentage) | Statistical difference 2025 compared with 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 8% | 7% | No significant difference |
| No | 82% | 82% | No significant difference |
| Do not know | 11% | 10% | No significant difference |
Frequency of seeing or hearing gambling adverts or promotions Next section
Engagement with gambling related content on social media
Last updated: 13 November 2025
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