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Statistics and research release

Investigating the relationship between reasons for gambling and different gambling activities  

The Gambling Commission report on Investigating the relationship between reasons for gambling and different gambling activities  

Summary

This short report explores the reasons people give for taking part in gambling and how they relate to different gambling activities. It shows how the reasons given for gambling can be grouped into 5 broad themes: enhancement, challenge, coping and escapism, social, and money, and that different themes are associated with different gambling activities.  

Key facts

The reasons people give for taking part in gambling activities group together into 5 themes; monetary, social, enhancement (gambling for fun or excitement), coping and or escapism (gambling to alleviate boredom or to help when feeling tense), and challenge (gambling to compete or for the mental challenge).  

Monetary reasons are not the main motivation for taking part in most gambling activities.  

There are differences between the reasons associated with taking part in gambling activities online and taking part in gambling activities in person.  

Online activities tending to be more strongly associated with motives relating to coping and escapism, whereas in person activities tend to be more strongly associated with enhancement and social reasons.  

Details

More details can be found in the main report.

Notes

This publication is primarily for anyone who has an involvement or interest in the gambling industry including government, licensed operators, trade bodies, international regulators, journalists, academic researchers, financial institutions, statisticians, consumers and local authorities. 

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