GambleAware has reported that more than five million people in the UK want to reduce or stop gambling altogether. Yet the headline figure appears loosely benchmarked against national population estimates.
The charity has used its annual Treatment and Support survey as a basis, which was conducted by YouGov over November and December 2024.
In total, the surveyed amounted to a total of 17,933 people, of which six in ten adults (60.8%) reported to have gambled at least once in the last 12 months at the time of the study.
Furthermore, the YouGov findings highlighted that one in six (16%) of those 60.8% reported that they want to either reduce or quit gambling entirely.
GambleAware’s estimate is based on extrapolated findings from a pool of 17,933 respondents against 2024 population figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a method that raises questions about the accuracy of its portrayal of public attitudes to gambling.
ONS figures showcased that the total UK adult population stood at 53.5 million people. GambleAware has taken that and multiplied it by the 60.8% figure from the YouGov study, loosely highlighting that 32.5 million people gambled in the 12 months before the study was conducted.
That 32.5 million estimate was then multiplied by the previously mentioned 16%, resulting in around 5.3 million people who want to either quit or reduce their gambling.
Again, these figures are purely speculative, with GambleAware imposing the results from a survey pool of 17,933 people over the total UK population of 53.5 million as per official ONS estimates.
What the survey actually says
Examining the survey alone, YouGov highlighted that 80% of the total respondents who gambled in the last 12 months were happy with their current gambling habits.
Of that total, 62% were confident that they do not gamble very much, while 44% saw no need to reduce or quit gambling as they have not experienced any negative consequences. Additionally, one in five (20%) said they viewed gambling as fun, while 9% saw no gains from reducing or quitting.
“The qualitative data shows that the main reasons for participants not wanting to make changes to their gambling were because they felt that their gambling was under control, or because they perceived it as a fun activity and enjoyed the occasional wins, alongside the potential of ‘a big win’,” the report said.
“This was even the case among those who had previously experienced ‘problem gambling’, where people preferred having clear limits and better control over how much they gamble, as opposed to wanting to reduce or stop altogether.”
GambleAware to provide needs until final day…
GambleAware has historically been the commissioner of gambling harm education, prevention and treatment across Great Britain, but will close its doors in March next year.
The decision to close down the Charity and its twenty years of services is due to the new statutory levy introduced by the UK government that appointed three new commissioners across England, Scotland and Wales.
Until its closure, the charity will remain fully active and ready to deliver the necessary support for those experiencing gambling harm, with services like its support finder or spend calculator expected to remain operational until GambleAware’s shutdown in March.
GambleAware has reported that more than five million people in the UK want to reduce or stop gambling altogether. Yet the headline figure appears loosely benchmarked against national population estimates. The charity has used its annual Treatment and Support survey as a basis, which was conducted by YouGov over November and December 2024. In total, …