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
Trends in the youth adapted gambling screen
This section reports on long-term trends in the proportion of individuals who, based on their behaviours and actions, are identified as young people experiencing problems with their gambling, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition - Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) screen.
While overall gambling participation declined and the proportion of young people classified as low risk (DSM-IV-MR-J score 0 or 1) decreased, the prevalence of higher-risk gambling behaviours among young people remained relatively unchanged over the period.
Looking at these categories in more detail, the proportion of young people classified as low risk (DSM-IV-MR-J score 0 or 1) varied over the period, falling from 27.3% in 2022 to 23.0% in 2023 and remaining at a similar level in 2024 (23.2%), before increasing to 27.0% in 2025 and then falling back to 23.1% in 2026. Despite these fluctuations, there were no statistically significant changes in the proportions classified as at-risk (score 2 or 3) or problem gambling risk (score 4 or more), which remained at around 2% and 1% respectively throughout the period.
Table 3.3: DSM-IV-MR-J Youth Adapted problem screen, in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026
Types of young people’s gambling risk profile as defined by the DSM-IV-MR-J youth-adapted problem screen.
Base: All answering 2022 (2,559), 2023 (3,453), 2024 (3,869), 2025 (3,666), 2026 (3,867).
| Gambling risk categories | 2022 (percentage) | 2023 (percentage) | 2024 (percentage) | 2025 (percentage) | 2026 (percentage) | Statistical difference 2026 compared with 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSM-IV-MR-J score 0 or 1 | 27.3% | 23.0% | 23.2% | 27.0% | 23.1% | Significant decrease |
| DSM-IV-MR-J score 2 or 3 | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 2.0% | No significant difference |
| DSM-IV-MR-J score 4 or more | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0.9% | No significant difference |
| Never have gambled | 68.9% | 74.2% | 72.7% | 69.6% | 74.0% | Significant increase |
| Prefer not to say | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.1% | N/A | Significant decrease |
Active involvement in gambling
Last updated: 12 November 2026
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