Report
Young People and Gambling 2026: Official statistics
Gambling Commission report produced by Ipsos on young people and their gambling behaviour, attitudes and awareness in 2026.
Contents
- Executive summary
- Wider experience of gambling
-
- Summary
- Definitions
- 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 experienced gambling
- Being stopped from gambling for being too young
- Gambling in the context of young people’s spare time activities
- Gambling in the context of other risk-taking behaviours
- Active involvement in gambling and experience of problem gambling
- Trends in gambling behaviours: 2022 to 2026
- 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
Young people's active involvement in gambling
Overall, 26% of young people spent their own money (for example pocket money, birthday money or money they earned themselves) on at least one gambling activity in the last 12 months. Participation was largely driven by non-age-restricted activities, particularly arcade gaming machines (19%), betting with friends or family (11%), and playing cards for money (5%). By contrast, participation in age restricted gambling was considerably lower, with 1% reporting spending their own money on National Lottery scratchcards, placing a bet on a betting website or app, playing an online game on a casino website and placing a bet on esports.
Figure 2.1: Top 10 gambling activities that young people spent their own money on in the last 12 months
Figure 2.1 information
GAMSPEND4. And when did you last spend money on [this activity and/or these activities]? Was it...?
Base: All 11 to 17 year olds answering 2026 (3,867).
Note: this is a multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100%.
| Top 10 gambling activities young people spent their own money on within the past 12 months | 2026 (percentage) (this is a multiple response question; therefore, answers do not sum to 100%) |
|---|---|
| Spent money on any gambling activity in last 12 months | 26% |
| Spent money on non-age restricted gambling | 24% |
| Spent money on age restricted gambling | 5% |
| Played arcade gaming machines | 19% |
| Placed a bet for money between friends or family | 11% |
| Played cards for money | 5% |
| Played fruit or slot machines | 3% |
| Played bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club | 1% |
| Placed a bet on a betting website and/or app | 1% |
| National Lottery scratchcards | 1% |
| Played an online game on a casino website | 1% |
| Played bingo at a bingo club | 1% |
| Placed a bet on esports | 1% |
The proportion of young people who spent their own money on gambling activities in the last 12 months fell from 30% in 2025 to 26% in 2026. This decline was driven by falls in several of the most commonly reported gambling activities, including playing arcade gaming machines, which decreased from 21% to 19%, and betting for money with friends or family, which fell from 14% to 11%.
Table 2.1: Top 10 gambling activities that young people spent their own money on in the last 12 months 2025 to 2026
GAMSPEND4. And when did you last spend money on [this activity and/or these activities]? Was it...?
Base: All answering 2025 (3,666), 2026 (3,867).
Note: multiple response question, therefore answers do not sum to 100%.
| Top 10 gambling activities young people spent their own money on within the past 12 months | 2025 (percentage) | 2026 (percentage) | Statistical difference 2026 compared with 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spent money on any gambling activity in last 12 months (from across all 17 listed activities) | 30% | 26% | Significant decrease |
| Played arcade gaming machines | 21% | 19% | Significant decrease |
| Placed a bet for money between friends or family | 14% | 11% | Significant decrease |
| Played cards for money | 5% | 5% | No significant difference |
| Played fruit or slot machines | 4% | 3% | Significant decrease |
| Played bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club | 2% | 1% | Significant decrease |
| Placed a bet on a betting website and/or app | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
| National Lottery scratchcards | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
| Played an online game on a casino website | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
| Played bingo at a bingo club | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
| Placed a bet on esports | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
Young people who are actively involved in gambling: demographic profile
Overall, there were no significant difference in the proportion of boys (26%) and girls (25%) who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months. However, boys were more likely than girls to spend their own money on placing a bet for money between family and friends (12%, compared with 9%) and playing cards for money (6%, compared with 3%).
Young people aged 14 to 17 were more likely than those aged 11 to 13 to spend their own money on gambling activities (29%, compared with 22%). This difference was driven by higher participation rates among older young people in some of the most common gambling activities, including playing arcade gaming machines (21%, compared with 18%), betting for money with friends or family (13%, compared with 7%), and playing cards for money (7%, compared with 3%).
Young people from white ethnic groups were more likely than those from ethnic minority backgrounds to have spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months (27%, compared with 23%).
Young people who considered themselves to be risk-takers were more likely to spend their own money on gambling than those who did not consider themselves to be risk-takers (34%, compared with 22%). Similarly, young people who had seen family members gamble were more likely to have spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months than those who had not (35%, compared with 22%).
Previous sectionDefinitions Next section
Reasons why young people gamble
Last updated: 12 November 2026
Show updates to this content
No changes to show.