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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.

Published
12 November 2026

Last updated
12 November 2026 - Changes

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More than half of young people (55%) have some experience of gambling, with 45% having done so in the last 12 months. Arcade gaming machines, including penny pushers and claw grab machines, were the most popular form of gambling, played by 32% of young people in the last 12 months.

Focusing on young people gambling with their own money, around 1 in 4 (26%) reported doing so in the last 12 months. Participation was more common in non-age-restricted gambling activities (24%) than age-restricted gambling activities (5%), with play on arcade gaming machines the most common activity involving young people's own money (19%). The primary motivation for gambling among young people remains that they find it 'fun', cited by 78% of those who had spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months.

Analysis of trends in youth gambling between 2022 and 2026 indicates an overall decline in participation, although there were variations across intervening years. The proportion of young people who have ever experienced gambling fell from 60% in 2022 to 55% in 2026, while active involvement declined from 31% to 26% over the same period. Problem gambling, as measured by the youth-adapted problem gambling screen (DSM-IV-MR-J), has remained relatively stable since 2022, with 0.9% scoring 4 or more, 2.0% scoring 2 or 3, and 23.1% scoring 0 or 1 in 2026.

Among young people who have experienced gambling, 73% reported gambling with a parent, carer or guardian. A small minority (8%) gamble alone while 17% of those who have ever gambled reported being stopped because they were underage. Around one-third (35%) of young people reported having seen a family member they live with gamble, and these young people were consistently more likely to participate in gambling activities themselves.

Exposure to gambling advertising remains widespread. Almost 9 in 10 young people (89%) recalled seeing or hearing gambling advertising or promotions in the last year. Young people were most likely to report seeing gambling advertisements at least weekly on social media (55%), live streaming or video sharing platforms (53%), television (52%) and apps (51%). Boys were more likely than girls to report seeing gambling adverts across a range of platforms, including live streaming or video sharing platforms (57%, compared with 39%) and at sports events (61%, compared with 42%).

The 2026 survey found that 15% of young people followed gambling-related content on social media or streaming platforms. Among these young people, 38% reported that influencers, creators or streamers they followed had advertised gambling-related content to them. Of young people who had seen gambling advertising, 1 in 10 (10%) reported that it had prompted them to spend money on gambling when they were not otherwise planning to do so. However, some of these respondents did not report gambling participation elsewhere in the survey, highlighting a finding explored further in the report.

The survey also continued to explore the relationship between gambling and gaming. Awareness of in-game purchasing features was widespread, with 82% of young people aware of at least one type of in-game item activity. Among those aware of these activities, 84% had used at least one. Across all young people aged 11 to 17, 22% reported opening virtual loot boxes or surprise boxes using their own money.

Most young people (81%) felt well informed about the risks associated with gambling, while around two-thirds (68%) reported that someone had spoken to them about the potential problems gambling can lead to. The most common reasons for not gambling were a lack of interest (44%) and being too young or gambling being illegal for their age (40%).

Around 3 in 10 (29%) young people consider themselves risk-takers, with boys and older teenagers more likely to identify with this description. Notably, 38% of those spending their own money on gambling consider themselves risk-takers, significantly higher than the overall average. Alongside gambling, young people also engaged in other risk-taking behaviours during the last 12 months, including alcohol consumption (31%), vaping (11%), smoking tobacco cigarettes (6%) and taking illegal drugs (5%).

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