Half of British adults gambled in last month – survey

Almost half of adults (48%) in Great Britain have gambled in the last four weeks, according to an annual survey by the industry regulator.

Some 2.7% of adults scored “8+” on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) in 2024 – up from 2.5% the previous year – which is “statistically stable” compared to the year before, the Gambling Commission found.

The headline figure of those who gambled over the last month – which is the same as the previous year – falls to 28% when those who had only bought tickets for a lottery draw were excluded.

Overall, some 42% of adults who gambled in the past 12 months rated the last time they gambled positively, compared to 21% who rated it negatively.

The chance of winning “big money” was the main reason why people gambled (85%), followed by finding gambling to be fun (72%).

Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “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.

“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.

“We have already introduced light-touch financial vulnerability checks on those spending £150 a month, reduced the intensity of all online games by banning autoplay and slowing game speed, and tightened age verification in premises.

“We’ve also banned potentially harmful marketing offers involving consumers having to carry out two or more types of gambling, such as betting and playing slots, and limited the number of times bonus funds must be re-staked before a consumer can withdraw winnings.

Will Prochaska, director of the Coalition to End Gambling Ads, said: “The Gambling Commission releases these statistics as if nothing is wrong. But there’s something very wrong when over a million people have a gambling problem and millions more are being harmed.

“Families up and down the country are being torn apart to deliver profits for big gambling corporations. If we’re serious about addressing this crisis, we must start by banning gambling advertising.”

A Betting and Gaming Council spokeswoman said: “More than 22 million adults in Britain enjoy a bet each month and as the Gambling Commission today shows, the vast majority of people do so without a problem.

“Our members take player protections incredibly seriously and have voluntarily contributed £170 million to research, education and treatment programmes over the past four years alone – in stark contrast to the illegal black market which has almost trebled in size since 2022 and actively targets vulnerable customers.

“The NHS APM Survey of June 2025 and the NHS health survey of 2021 both estimated problem gambling at 0.4% and the differences between this and the Gambling Commission’s rate appear to reflect different methodology rather than a rise in harm.”