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Young people and gambling: Qualitative research

Qualitative research conducted by 2CV, with 11 to 17 year olds, to build on and contextualise the findings from the annual Young People and Gambling survey.

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Published
25 February 2025

Last updated
25 February 2025 - Changes

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Contents

• Young people and gambling: Qualitative research

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• About the research
• Summary of findings
• Research approach
• Methodology
• Qualitative research sample
• Strengths and limitations of the research
• Defining gambling through the eyes of young people
• Findings
• Expanding sphere of influence
• Impact of personal technology and social media
• How the changing spaces of gambling reduces supervision
• Heightened risks of exposure and potential harm for teenage boys
• Misunderstanding of gambling and associated risks
• What new learning has this research brought to the Gambling Commission
• Appendix

Qualitative research sample

30 young people across England, Scotland, and Wales took part in the qualitative research. The sample was split equally across gender, social grade (mix of BC1 and C2D) (opens in new tab), and ethnicity (ensuring good representation across the sample). The sample was split across the following pre-defined age bands and those in the 2 oldest age bands, 15 to 16 years old and 16 to 17 years old, had mixed gender groups.

Each friendship group belonged to the same school year group such as Year 7 (11 to 12 years old) for England or S1 for Scotland.

All participants were required to have gambling experiences within the past 12 months - for example, helping a parent pick a lottery number or going to the arcade. Each young person was also required to have some level of gaming experience and/or experience of other activities which have similarities to gambling - this could be on a console, computer, tablet, handheld console, or a phone.

Friendship Group 1 - 11 to 12 years old, Year 7 - BC1, Female, Livingston, Scotland.

Friendship Group 2 - 12 to 13 years old, Year 8 - C2D, Male, Cardiff, Wales.

Friendship Group 3 - 13 to 14 years old, Year 9 - BC1, Male, Liverpool, England.

Friendship Group 4 - 14 to 15 years old, Year 10 - C2D, Female, London, England.

Friendship Group 5 - 15 to 16 years old, Year 11 - BC1, Male Lead, Mixed, Swansea, Wales.

Friendship Group 6 - 16 to 17 years old, Year 12 - C2D, Female Lead, Mixed, Glasgow, Scotland.

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Methodology Next section
Strengths and limitations of the research

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Last updated: 25 February 2025

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