Gambling Commission Releases 2023 Survey on Youth Gambling
The Gambling Commission’s 2023 Young People and Gambling Survey provides key insights into the gambling activities of individuals aged 11-17 years. The survey shows a noticeable decline in active gambling involvement among young people in the last year.
Over the past 7 days, 5% of young people reported being actively involved in gambling, a decrease from 7% in 2022. In the last 12 months, 26% engaged in gambling activities, down from 31% the previous year.
The survey also indicates a reduction in problem gambling rates among young people. The rate dropped to 0.7% in 2023, from 0.9% in 2022 and 1.7% in 2019. Similarly, the percentage of young people at risk of problem gambling decreased to 1.5%, compared to 2.4% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2019.
In terms of exposure to gambling advertising, there was a decline compared to the previous year. The survey revealed that 55% of young people saw gambling adverts offline, a decrease from 66% in 2022. Online advertising exposure also decreased, with 53% reporting seeing adverts, down from 63% in 2022.
These findings are significant for the igaming industry, indicating a trend towards decreased gambling activity and advertising exposure among young people in the UK.
A spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “BGC members take a zero tolerance approach to betting by children.
“The most popular forms of betting by children are legal arcade games like penny pusher and claw grab machines, bets between friends or family, and playing cards for money – not with BGC members.
“These latest figures from the Gambling Commission, which incorporates data from 17 year olds for the first time, and therefore comparisons with previous surveys should be treated with caution, show the number of children aged 11-17 gambling in the last seven has dropped two per cent since last year, to five per cent.
“Our members enforce strict age verification on all their products to prevent underage gaming, while the BGC funds the £10m Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme, delivered by leading charities YGAM and GamCare, which has reached more than two million 11 to 19-year-olds, and those working with them, in the UK.
“Meanwhile figures released by independent analysts Serve Legal revealed betting shops’ record on age verification checks are better than those of supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol forecourts.
“In 2019, BGC members introduced the whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting commercials during live sport before the 9pm watershed, which led to the number of such ads being seen by children at that time falling by 97 per cent. Our members also introduced new age gating rules for advertising on social media platforms, restricting ads to those aged 25 and over for most sites.
“This survey shows young people’s exposure to gambling adverts and promotions has also declined since last year, of 11-17 year olds 55 per cent had seen gambling adverts offline, compared to 66 per cent in 2022, and 53 per cent had seen adverts online, compared to 63 per cent in 2022.
“The regulated betting and gaming industry is determined to promote safer gaming, unlike the unsafe and growing online black market, which has none of the safeguards strictly employed by BGC members.”
