Some 4,675 adults participated in the survey for the third wave of the Great Britain Gambling Survey (GSGB), covering the three months up to the end of October. The GSGB reports that 48% of respondents gambled within the last four weeks, consistent with both Q1 and Q2.
Commenting on the data during the Betting and Gaming Council’s AGM on February 27, Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes highlighted a significant rise in activity on free prize draws. These are not regulated under the Lotteries Act and, therefore, not included in the data or considered gambling by law.
“We’ve seen the growth of large-scale prize draws, and that growth has been very significant,” Rhodes told BGC members. “We’ve also seen society lottery sales surpass £1 billion for the first time.”
He noted that prize draw products have a participation level much higher than other gambling products, or those regulated as gambling. “It’s getting close to being on a par with betting in terms of participation and average spending,” Rhodes said.
Regarding the value of the GSGB data, Rhodes mentioned these surveys, which have been collecting data since 2023, provide insights into which products consumers are engaging with. “The frequency of the gambling survey for Great Britain allows us to see these movements with much greater frequency than we did before,” he added.
There has been ongoing debate within the industry about whether free prize draws, like those offered by some companies, should be regulated by the Gambling Commission. While licensed lottery supporters believe these products have an unfair advantage by not adhering to the same rules on funding charities, free prize draw supporters argue their products are less risky and should not be considered gambling.
## Lottery Still King in the UK
Data for Q3, published yesterday (February 27), shows 20% of respondents only participated in lottery draws. This, covering both the National Lottery and other licensed charity lottery draws, is also consistent with Q2. When excluding lottery-only players, overall gambling participation was 28%, the same as in Q2.
Male players between the ages of 45 and 54 were the most active group during Q3. However, after excluding lottery-only players, the largest group was male consumers aged 25 to 34.
Overall, women were more likely to have gambled, with 56% of total players in the past four weeks being women, compared to 44% men.
National Lottery was the most popular form of gambling by a significant margin at 31%, ahead of charity lottery at 16%. Next came scratch cards at 22%, then sports betting at 10%, and online instant win games with 7%.
## Non-Lottery Online Gambling Down in Q3
Regarding how people gambled, the percentage that played online was 38%, slightly ahead of 37% in the preceding period. However, this figure drops to 15% when removing all lottery-only players. The GSGB described this as a “significant decline” from the 17% reported in wave two, covering the Q2 period.
In terms of in-person activity, the participation rate decreased from 29% in wave two to 28%. After removing all lottery-only players, the rate stood at 18%, which matches wave two.
## Players Continue to Chase Big Wins
Examining why people gamble, the main reasons remain largely unchanged among active players. Of those who gambled in the past four weeks, the most popular reason was the “chance to win big money.” Others also mentioned they gambled because they find it “fun.”
The next quarterly publication—wave four covering the three months to December—will be released on May 22.
The percentage of people gambling in the UK remained steady during Q3 at 48%. However, Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes believes a significant increase in free prize draws could be affecting the licensed lottery sector.