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
Active involvement in gambling
Consistent with the overall decline in gambling participation, the proportion of young people spending their own money on most gambling activities was lower in 2026 than in 2022; falling from 31% in 2022 to 26% in 2026. However, the relative popularity of different activities remained largely unchanged over the period, as shown in Table 3.2.
Playing arcade gaming machines remained by far the most common gambling activity in every survey year, with participation decreasing slightly from 22% in 2022 to 19% in 2026. Betting for money between friends or family was consistently the second most common activity, falling from 15% to 11% over the same period. Notably, both of these activities are non-age restricted forms of gambling and continued to account for the largest share of young people’s active involvement in gambling throughout the period. Both activities saw statistically significant decreases between 2022 and 2026.
Looking specifically at gambling activities that involved young people spending their own money, participation in activities beyond arcade gaming machines and betting between friends or family remained relatively low throughout the survey period. Around 5% reported playing cards for money each year, while 3% reported spending their own money on fruit or slot machines. Participation in other activities, including bingo played outside a bingo club, betting on esports, National Lottery scratchcards, online casino games and betting via a betting website or app, remained low throughout the period, with each activity reported by around 1% to 2% of young people.
Overall, while the types of gambling activities that young people take part in have remained largely consistent over time, the findings suggest a decline in active gambling participation between 2022 and 2026, driven by lower engagement in arcade gaming machines play and betting for money between friends and family, the 2 most prevalent activities throughout the period.
Table 3.2: Top 10 gambling activities that young people spent their own money on within the past 12 months, in 2026 (with comparison data for 2022 to 2026)
GAMSPEND4. And when did you last spend money on [this activity and/or these activities]? Was it...?
Base: All answering 2022 (2,559), 2023 (3,453), 2024 (3,869), 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 (list based on activities in 2026) | 2022 (percentage) | 2023 (percentage) | 2024 (percentage) | 2025 (percentage) | 2026 (percentage) | Statistical difference 2026 compared with 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spent money on any gambling activity in last 12 months | 31% | 26% | 27% | 30% | 26% | Significant decrease |
| Played arcade gaming machines | 22% | 19% | 20% | 21% | 19% | Significant decrease |
| Placed a bet for money between friends or family | 15% | 11% | 11% | 14% | 11% | Significant decrease |
| Played cards for money | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | No significant difference |
| Played fruit or slot machines | 3% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 3% | No significant difference |
| Played bingo at somewhere other than a bingo club | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% | Significant decrease |
| Placed a bet on a betting website and/or app | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
| Played an online game on a casino website (for example online poker or online roulette for money) | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
| National Lottery scratchcards | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
| Placed a bet on esports | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | Significant decrease |
| Played bingo at a bingo club | N/A | N/A | 1% | 1% | 1% | No significant difference |
Experience of gambling Next section
Trends in the youth adapted gambling screen
Last updated: 12 November 2026
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