The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has released the Wave-2 datasets from the 2024 Gambling Survey of Great Britain (GSGB). This survey utilizes a fresh format and research approach, conducted by NatCen for the Gambling Commission to assess gambling habits and capture new data regarding “gambling behaviors, opinions, and any negative impacts experienced across the adult population in Great Britain.”
After a thorough two-year technical review, the Wave-1 GSGB datasets were initially published on February 29, 2024. This marked a transformation in data-gathering processes for the Gambling Commission, offering stakeholders more consistent and regular data on gambling trends.
It’s essential to note that Wave-1 and Wave-2 datasets do not incorporate the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) statistics for UK adults. These statistics are shared in the Commission’s annual publication, ‘Official Statistics on Gambling Participation,’ which discusses “the implications of gambling on individuals and their close acquaintances.”
The Wave-2 GSGB datasets were compiled by NatCen, based on a “nationally representative sample” of 4,657 adults aged 18 and over, who were interviewed between April and July 2024.
As for gambling prevalence, significant findings revealed that 48% of adults participated in some form of gambling in the past four weeks, consistent with 2023 data and Wave-1 data for 2024 (index Table A.3).
When excluding lottery draws, overall adult gambling participation dropped to 28%. Among men, 52% reported gambling in the past four weeks, but this percentage fell to 32.4% when lottery draws were excluded. For women, the participation rate was 43.6%, decreasing to 24.7% when excluding those who only played the lottery (index Table A.8).
The age group with the highest gambling participation, including lottery draws, was the 45-54 age group at 55.2%. However, when excluding lottery-only participants, the 25-34 age group had the highest participation rate at 35.8%. Across all age groups, women consistently participated less than men.
Online gambling involved 37.4% of respondents, though this percentage fell to 17.2% when those who only participated in lottery draws were excluded. For males, 42.2% engaged in online gambling, decreasing to 22.0% without lottery-only players. For females, 33.0% participated in online gambling, dropping to 12.7% without lottery exclusives.
The highest online gambling rates, including lottery players, were in the 45-54 age group at 45.5%. When excluding those who only played the lottery, the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups both had the highest participation rates at 23.9%.
A summary of Wave-2 activities highlighted: “The most popular gambling activities over the past four weeks included lotteries, with National Lottery draws at 31% and other charity lottery draws at 16%. Next, the most engaged activities were scratchcards (12%), betting (12%), and online instant win games (7%). Compared to the previous period (Wave 1, 2024), betting participation grew by more than three percentage points.”
In terms of betting activities, 12.4% of respondents partook in these activities, with 18.5% of males engaged compared to 6.5% of females (index Table A.11).
The most popular betting involved sports and racing (either online or through an app), with an overall participation rate of 10.3%—15.8% of males and 5.1% of females involved. Online casino games had an index of 2.8%, involving 4.8% of males and 0.9% of females.
The Commission emphasizes that “The statistics in this report represent our official records on gambling participation. The GSGB data isn’t comparable to past gambling survey reports due to methodological changes.”
