UKGC reports consistent gambling trends

Christine Denosta July 16, 2024

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has recently released the second phase of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), which has yielded consistent results with the initial findings made available to the public. This survey aims to provide stakeholders with comprehensive insights into the gaming, betting, and playing behaviours, attitudes, and associated risks experienced by the adult population in Great Britain. The UKGC has collaborated with the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the University of Glasgow to gather substantial and informative data.

The Commission published the first two datasets of the GSGB titled ‘Wave-1’ and ‘Wave-2’ in 2024. These datasets have been acclaimed as the “largest survey about people’s gambling behaviours in the world, collecting data from a total of 20,000 respondents each year.” The survey’s key findings reveal some noteworthy trends in gambling participation and behaviour among adults in Great Britain. Overall involvement in any gambling activity in the past four weeks remained consistent at 48 percent.

	Wave-1	Excluding lottery draw only players	Wave-2	Excluding lottery draw only players
All participants	48%	27%	48%	27%
All male	53%	31%	51%	30%
All female	43%	23%	45%	25%

Gambling participation in the past four weeks (including and excluding Lottery draw only players)

The online gambling participation rate stood at 36 percent in the past four weeks, with a notable 14 percent decrease when lottery draw-only players were excluded.

	Wave-1	Excluding lottery draw only players	Wave-2	Excluding lottery draw only players
All participants	38%	16%	36%	14%
All male	43%	21%	40%	18%
All female	32%	11%	32%	10%

Online gambling participation in the past four weeks (including and excluding Lottery draw only players)

In contrast, the in-person gambling participation rate was at 29 percent and dropped to 18 percent when excluding lottery draw-only players. Surprisingly, 19 percent of respondents had participated in both online and in-person gambling activities in the past four weeks.

	Wave-1	Excluding lottery draw only players	Wave-2	Excluding lottery draw only players
All participants	29%	18%	29%	18%
All male	31%	19%	31%	18%
All female	27%	18%	28%	18%

In-person gambling participation in the past four weeks (including and excluding Lottery draw products only players)

The survey also highlights the most popular gambling activities in the past four weeks. Lotteries, including National Lottery draws, were the most popular, accounting for 31 percent of participation, followed by other charity lottery draws (15 percent), scratch cards (13 percent), betting (9 percent), and instant wins (6 percent). These trends are consistent with data seen in the previous wave (year 1, wave 1).

Gambling Activity	Wave-1	Wave-2
Tickets for National Lottery draws	31%	31%
Tickets for other charity lottery draws	16%	15%
Scratchcards	13%	13%
Online instant win games	7%	6%
Betting	10%	9%
Bingo	5%	4%
Casino games	3%	2%
Fruit and slots games	5%	4%
Another form of gambling activity	1%	2%
Football pools	2%	2%
Private betting	3%	3%

Gambling participation in the past four weeks, by type of gambling activity

In addition, the most popular reasons given for gambling were for enjoyment or monetary reasons, reflecting the diverse motivations behind individuals’ gambling habits.

Implications and stakeholder insights

The insights and data from the GSGB will be valuable for the gambling industry, regulatory authorities, and researchers. The publication of Wave-1 and Wave-2 datasets lays the foundation for understanding gambling behaviours in Great Britain, including participation rates, popular activities, and reasons for gambling among adults. Completing the Gambling Survey for Great Britain is a major step towards improving awareness and understanding of gambling habits, attitudes, and associated harms, contributing to informed decision-making and policy formulation in the sector.