UK Gambling maintains a statistically stable rate of severe problem gambling amongst adults, indexed at 2.7%, undertaken by research in 2024.
The figure forms part of Year 2 of the “Gambling Survey for Great Britain for 2024” (GSGB 2024). The new research methodology of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) which helps uncover new insights in gambling participation, behaviours and impacts.
NatCen and the University of Glasgow conducted the research on the biggest sample size of gamblers (+5,700 respondents) recorded by a regulatory authority. Publishing 2023 insights, Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes cited the GSGB as the “new baseline for understanding gambling behaviours in Britain.”
“The Gambling Survey for Great Britain is a key building block of the evidence base which helps government, industry and other partners understand both gambling behaviour and potential consequences from gambling.” read Rhodes statement for 2024.
“From the end of this month [31 October] our new rules will give consumer controls over deposit limits and all gambling businesses must prompt their customers to set a financial limit before they make their first deposit.”
As such, GSGB insights and findings have replaced the previous Health Survey for England (HSE), which has discontinued surveying problem gambling feedback.
Gambling prevalence mirrors lotto transitions
In Year 2, the GSGB found that around 60% of adults had gambled in the past 12 months. On a monthly basis (past four weeks), 48% of UK adults reported gambling activity — a figure that has remained statistically stable compared to Year 1 (2023).
Excluding adults who only played National Lottery draws, prevalence dropped to 41% over 12 months and 28% in the past four weeks – a characteristic consistent with earlier prevalence studies.
The prominence of the National Lottery in the dataset, particularly its transition to digital channels, continued to influence headline participation figures and explains the changing weighting of online gambling prevalence recorded by the GSGB.
Despite changes, the most common forms of gambling remained National Lottery products of ticket draws at 31%, NL Scratchcards at 13% and other lotteries at 16%.
Participation remained highest among adults aged 45 to 64, with over half reporting gambling in the past four weeks. When lottery play was excluded, insights shifted significantly: 25–34 year-olds emerged as the most active gamblers, with 36% reporting non-lottery gambling in the past four weeks.
By age group, 36% of 18–24 year-olds reported gambling in the past four weeks, compared to 46% of 25–34 year-olds. Engagement then rose among 35–44 year-olds (49%), before peaking in mid-life categories.
At the older end of the spectrum, participation fell back: 46% of those aged 65–74 gambled in the past four weeks. That rate declined further to 42% among those aged 75 and over.
Gender differences also persisted. 51% of men reported gambling in the past four weeks compared with 44% of women, with men more likely to engage in activities beyond lottery draws.
Problem gambling & societal harms
Referencing the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), the GSGB 2024 survey found that 2.7% of adults scored in the problem gambling range (8+), indicating individuals experiencing serious harms and likely loss of behavioural control.
The rate remained statistically stable compared with 2023. A further 3.1% of adults were identified at moderate risk (PGSI 3-7) and 8.8% at low risk (PGSI 1-2).
A breakdown of the highest-risk profiles showed that men are disproportionately affected (6% vs 2.8% of women), while young adults aged 18–24 are most vulnerable, with around 10% classified as problem gamblers.
Prevalence was also higher in more deprived areas, with Scotland reporting 11% problem gambling rates in the most deprived communities compared to less than 1% in the least deprived of UK councils.
The survey highlighted the severe impacts linked to gambling harms: 12.2% of participants reported suicidal thoughts or attempts in the past year, with 5.2% attributing this partly or wholly to gambling.
Other common harms included reduced spending on essentials (6.7%), lying to family (6%) and borrowing or using savings to gamble (5.7%).
Despite these consequences, only 3.4% of gamblers sought help, with support spread across gambling-specific services, mental health providers, welfare groups and relationship counselling.
No time for reflections
While the GSGB provided a richer narrative on problem gambling conditions, direct comparisons with previous studies remain indeterminate.
Prior to 2020, UK gambling prevalence research was based on DSM-IV criteria, which focused narrowly on pathological harms. Academically, DSM-IV is not considered directly compatible with the PGSI framework, which measures a broader continuum of gambling behaviours and consequences.
DSM-IV surveys carried out up to 2020 suggested that UK problem gambling rates were relatively stable in the 0.5%–0.6% range, with the NHS Public Health Survey recording higher prevalence among men (1.2%–1.4%).
By contrast, the GSGB, using the PGSI scale, reported higher overall levels of risk across the population on changed methodology and screening of problem gamblers.
In previous updates, the Commission has cautioned against making comparisons between the datasets of previous health surveys on problem gambling.
Instead, it endorses the GSGB as the primary evidence base for interpreting gambling prevalence and behaviours, both for regulatory purposes and for use by the NHS and the Statutory Levy.
UKGC: new controls will take effect
UKGC CEO Andrew Rhodes said the GSGB will evidence safer gambling controls, citing new affordability checks, slower game speeds, stricter age verification, bonus limits, deposit prompts and pilot risk checks for high spenders.
“This year’s findings deepen our understanding of consequences from gambling and provide crucial insight into risk profiles among those who gamble most frequently. We strongly encourage operators to use this evidence to consider the risks within their own customer bases.
“Data and research, such as GSGB, is essential to helping us identify where our regulatory focus should be and informs our ongoing work to implement player protection recommendations from the Gambling Act Review White Paper.”
