The latest report from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has highlighted data around young peoples’ gambling activity, with it detailing that 73% of survey respondents did not engage with any gambling activities.
According to the report, it underlines that gambling remains relatively niche among youth, however, family exposure was cited as a particular concern with young people who observed family members gambling being more likely to engage themselves, with engagement rising from 8% in 2023 to 13% in 2024.
The report is the fourth edition providing insights into “young people’s exposure to and involvement in gambling”, as well as the “impact gambling can have on them”.
According to the report: “The study collected data from 3,869 pupils aged 11 to 17 years old across curriculum years 7 to 12 (S1 to S6 in Scotland), attending academies, maintained and independent schools in England, Scotland, and Wales using the Ipsos Young People Omnibus. Pupils completed an online self-report survey in class; fieldwork took place between February and June 2024.”
The data outlined a small rise from 26% in 2023 to 27% in 2024, when it comes to engagement, that being said this is lower than the 31% observed in 2022.
Among active respondents, arcade gaming machines were the most popular activity, with 20% of young people participating in 2024.
Engagements with adult gambling activities saw 2% of respondents report betting on websites/apps and 1% visiting betting shops.
Furthermore, whilst there was a wider decline for betting with friends and family, the survey underpinned mixed results for varying demographics: active gambling among male respondents rose from 4% in 2023 to 6% in 2024, while older respondents aged 14–17 also showed an increase in active engagement, from 4% in 2023 to 6% in 2024.
Seeking to maintain a deeper understanding of the issue at hand, the UKGC taps into the DSM-IV-MR-J screen, which is used as a “youth-adapted gambling index”.
It considers nine items to assess whether respondents who gamble experience problems related to gambling.
The screen covers children’s thoughts, behaviours, and the consequences of gambling to capture adolescent-specific responses, distinct from the adult PGSI index.
Trends are compared across 2022 to 2024, however the UKGC warns of the impact of varying sample differences.
In 2024, 23.2% of respondents scored 0 or one (no problems), 1.9% scored two or three (at-risk), and 1.5% scored four or more (problem gambling).
Diving deeper into the numbers, it detailed that 14–17-year-olds and boys were more likely to score four or more than younger teens or girls, while youth in Scotland and those with family exposure to gambling also scored higher (four or more) than other groups.
Comparing previous datasets, the survey showed an increase in respondents scoring four or more: from 0.7% in 2023 to 1.5% in 2024.
