Some 4,675 adults were surveyed for the third wave of the GC’s GSGB, covering the three months leading up to the end of October. The GSGB reports that 48% of respondents had gambled at some point in the previous four weeks, consistent with both Q1 and Q2.
During the Betting and Gaming Council’s AGM on 27 February, Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes noted a significant rise in activity on free prize draws. These are not regulated under the Lotteries Act and are not featured in the data or even considered as gambling by law.
“We’ve seen the growth of large-scale prize draws and that growth has been very significant,” Rhodes told BGC members. He also shared that society lottery sales have surpassed the £1 billion mark for the first time.
Rhodes highlighted that participation in prize draw products is much higher than that of other gambling products or those regulated as gambling. “It’s getting close to being on par with betting in terms of participation and average spending,” he said.
Rhodes emphasized the value of the GSGB data, stating that these surveys, which have been collecting data since 2023, offer insights into which products consumers are engaging with. “The frequency of the gambling survey for Great Britain allows us to monitor these movements more frequently and accurately than before,” he added.
There has been debate within the industry regarding whether free prize draws, such as those offered by Omaze and Raffle House, should be regulated by the Gambling Commission. Licensed lotteries argue these products have an unfair advantage due to not adhering to the same charity funding rules. In contrast, proponents of free prize draws contend that their products are lower risk and should not be classified as gambling.
## Lottery Still King in the UK
Data for Q3, published on 27 February, shows that 20% of respondents only participated in lottery draws. This includes both the National Lottery and other licensed charity lottery draws and is consistent with Q2. Excluding lottery-only players, overall gambling participation was 28%, the same as in Q2.
During Q3, male players aged 45 to 54 were the most active group. However, when excluding lottery-only players, the largest group was male consumers aged 25 to 34.
Overall, women were more likely than men to have gambled, with 56% of the total players active in the past four weeks being women, compared to 44% men.
The National Lottery emerged as the most popular form of gambling at 31%, ahead of charity lotteries at 16%. Following these were scratch cards at 22%, sports betting at 10%, and online instant win games at 7%.
## Non-Lottery Online Gambling Down in Q3
Regarding gambling online, 38% of people did so, which is slightly higher than the 37% in the previous period. However, this figure drops to 15% when excluding all lottery-only players, which the GSGB described as a “significant decline” from the 17% reported in wave two.
In terms of in-person activity, participation decreased slightly from 29% in wave two to 28%. After removing all lottery-only players, the rate stood at 18%, consistent with wave two.
## Players Continue to Chase Big Wins
Examination of the reasons why people gamble revealed that the primary motivation among active players remained the same. The most popular reason for gambling in the past four weeks was the “chance to win big money,” followed by the perception of gambling as “fun.”
The next quarterly report—covering wave four and the three months to December—will be released on 22 May.
The percentage of individuals gambling in the UK remained steady during Q3 at 48%. However, Gambling Commission (GC) CEO Andrew Rhodes believes that the rising popularity of free prize draws might be impacting the licensed lottery sector.