New report into young people and gambling finds 'vast majority' is done legally

The Gambling Commission has described some of the headline figures from its latest report into young people's involvement with gambling as "encouraging" but has warned there remains a group who still struggle with the issue.

The Young People and Gambling Report for 2022 found that 31 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds had spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months but that the "vast majority" was legal or did not feature age-restricted products.

Arcade gaming machines, such as penny pusher or claw grab machines (22 per cent), placing a bet for money between friends or family (15 per cent), or playing cards with friends or family for money (five per cent), were the most popular forms of gambling among children.

By comparison just one per cent said they had placed a bet on a website or app.

The 2022 study also found that 0.9 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds, equivalent to around 35,000 children, were classed as problem gamblers in Great Britain.

The Gambling Commission said it would not be comparing that figure to previous years due to a change in methodology brought about after the Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequent school closures in 2020 and 2021 meant the survey could not go ahead as usual.

However, the equivalent report in 2018 had found a rate of 1.7 per cent, or 55,000 children classed as problem gamblers.

The survey found that 66 per cent of children reported their exposure to adverts or promotion about gambling happened offline, typically when watching television, while 63 per cent had seen gambling adverts online.

Despite that, 82 per cent of young people who had seen or heard adverts said it did not prompt them to spend money on gambling, although 13 per cent said they had chosen to follow or watch gambling companies on social media websites.

On releasing the report the Gambling Commission said: "In this year’s survey, while the headline data around regulated age-restricted products is encouraging, there is clearly a group who still struggle with gambling.

"We are committed to understanding and acting on these findings in more detail to help us, and a variety of other stakeholders, appreciate if and how young people are playing on regulated and non-regulated products, the challenges, and the wider implications."

A spokesperson for gambling industry body the Betting and Gaming Council said its members took a "zero tolerance approach" to betting by children, adding: "The most popular forms of betting by children are arcade games like penny pusher and claw grab machines, bets between friends and fruit machines – not with BGC members."

They added: "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 is delivered to every 11 to 19-year-old, and those working with them, in the UK."

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