Gambling rates steady as UK survey finds online overtakes retail
Nearly half of adults in Great Britain gambled in the four weeks before being surveyed during 2025, with online gambling continuing to outpace in-person play, according to the latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) released by the UK Gambling Commission.
The regulator’s third annual GSGB found that 47% of adults had participated in some form of gambling over the previous four weeks, a figure that fell to 27% when lottery-only players were excluded. While 38% of respondents had gambled online compared with 28% in person, the Commission said the gap was largely driven by online lottery ticket purchases. Excluding lottery-only players, online gambling participation stood at 16%, compared with 17% for in-person gambling.
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The publication also marks the first time the Commission has three consecutive years of comparable GSGB data, giving regulators, policymakers and the industry a consistent baseline for tracking changes in gambling participation, attitudes and gambling-related harm. The regulator did temper this by saying they had used a different methodology to previous gambling and health surveys so direct comparisons should not be made.
Produced by the National Centre for Social Research in partnership with the University of Glasgow, the survey collected responses from 20,775 adults between January 2025 and January 2026, making it one of the world’s largest dedicated gambling surveys.
Tim Miller, Executive Director for Research and Policy at the Gambling Commission, said the third annual report represented an important milestone for gambling research in Great Britain.
“The publication of the third annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain marks an important milestone,” he said.
“Three years of GSGB provides a richer, more timely picture of the trend in gambling in Great Britain than has previously been available. It helps us understand not only who gambles and the products they use, but also why people gamble, the range of experiences they have, and the consequences gambling can have in people’s lives. This evidence is a vital part of a wider evidence base that informs policy, regulation and wider public discussion.
“We encourage researchers, policymakers, industry and the wider public to make use of these findings alongside the interactive dashboard and supplementary reports. As with all official statistics, we remain committed to ensuring GSGB continues to meet the highest standards through transparency, independent scrutiny and ongoing methodological improvement.”
Other key findings from the latest survey
- Participation remains stable: 47% of adults gambled in the previous four weeks, or 27% excluding lottery-only players.
- Young adults gamble across more products: Adults aged 18 to 24 participated in an average of 3.6 gambling activities over four weeks, the highest of any age group, compared with 1.7 activities among those aged 75 and over.
- Winning money remains the biggest motivation: The most common reasons for gambling were the chance of winning big money (84%), because gambling is fun (69%), to make money (57%), and because it is exciting (53%).
- Most gamblers view gambling positively or neutrally: When asked about their most recent gambling experience, 78% reported either positive or neutral feelings, while 22% expressed a negative view.
- Problem gambling levels unchanged: The proportion of respondents recording a Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of eight or more remained stable at 2.4%, while 3.5% scored between three and seven and 7.8% scored between one and two.
- Severe gambling-related harm remains relatively uncommon: Among people who had gambled during the previous 12 months, 2.7% reported experiencing at least one severe consequence. The most commonly reported severe impact was relationship breakdown due to their own gambling (1.7%).
- Financial pressures and dishonesty were the most common adverse impacts: 6.4% said they had reduced spending on everyday essentials because of gambling, while 5.9% admitted lying to family members about their gambling.
- Few gamblers seek support: Just 3.4% of people who had gambled in the previous year said they had sought help for their own gambling, with similar proportions using specialist gambling services or mental health support.
- Gambling affects family and friends: 43.2% of respondents said someone close to them gambled, while 3.3% of those affected had sought help or information because of another person’s gambling.
