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
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- 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
Online gambling
Young people’s participation in online gambling
A total of 7% of young people reported online gambling in the past 12 months. This includes 3% who had placed a bet on a betting website or app and 3% who played an online game on a casino website. Fewer young people had played bingo online (2%), placed a bet on esports online (2%), while 1% had played National Lottery instant win games online.
Older groups were more likely to have gambled online (8% of 14 to 17 year olds, compared with 5% of 11 to 13 year olds) as were those from white ethnic groups, compared with young people from ethnic minority backgrounds (8%, compared with 4%).
The type of betting activities participated in online differed overall according to gender: boys were more likely than girls to place a bet on esports (2%, compared with 1%), and play online games on a casino website (4%, compared with 1%) than girls. However, girls were more likely to play bingo online than boys (2%, compared with 1%).
Online gambling using parent’s or guardian’s accounts
To understand the context in which young people experience online gambling, all young people were asked if they had ever used their parent’s or guardian’s accounts to gamble online, with or without their permission.
Of young people, 4 in 10 (40%) who had played National Lottery draw games or online instant win games did so using a parent's or guardian's account with permission, while 1 in 10 (10%) used an account without permission. Young people who had seen family members gamble were significantly more likely to report unauthorised use of a parent's or guardian's account (16% compared with 3%), suggesting an association between gambling within the family and opportunities for underage gambling participation.
Around 1 in 10 young people (8%) who had played bingo online, esports, betting websites or casino games online used their parent’s or guardian’s accounts without their permission. Those that had seen family members gamble were also more likely to use their parents' or guardians' accounts to play on gambling websites or place bets online without permission (12%, compared with 2%).
Use of parent’s or guardian’s accounts to play National Lottery games online, to play on gambling websites or to place bets online remained consistent year-on-year.
Table 6.4: Online gambling using parent’s or guardian’s accounts 2025 to 2026
GC_PLAYONLINE1. I have used my parent’s and/or guardian’s account to play National Lottery games online.
Base: All participants (answering) who have played National Lottery games online 2025 (198), 2026 (234).
GC_PLAYONLINE2. I have used my parents' and/or guardians' account to play on gambling websites or to place bets online.
Base: All participants (answering) who have played bingo online, esports, betting websites or casino games online 2025 (421), 2026 (343).
| Used parent’s or guardian’s account to play National Lottery games online | 2025 (percentage) | 2026 (percentage) | Statistical difference 2026 compared with 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With their permission | 39% | 40% | No significant difference |
| Without their permission | 7% | 10% | No significant difference |
| None of these are true about me | 57% | 52% | No significant difference |
| Used parent’s or guardian’s account to play on gambling websites or to place bets online | 2025 (percentage) | 2026 (percentage) | Statistical difference 2026 compared with 2025 |
| With their permission | 31% | 29% | No significant difference |
| Without their permission | 7% | 8% | No significant difference |
| None of these are true about me | 64% | 64% | No significant difference |
Who young people were with in an adult-only area Next section
Lottery play
Last updated: 12 November 2026
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