The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the gambling regulator in the country, announced today the publication of datasets and a new baseline for a better understanding of gambling behavior in Britain.
Produced by the National Center for Social Research and the University of Glasgow, the first annual report of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) seeks to deliver unique insights into gambling behaviors.
Statistical data disclosed by the UKGC uncovered that the gambling survey collected responses from 9,804 people. Still, the collected responses are expected to continue growing to approximately 20,000 in 2025.
Ultimately, this approach and vital data are expected to deliver invaluable highlights about the behavior of gamblers across the country, outline different trends, combat gambling harm and contribute toward the improvement of policies.
The data disclosed by the Commission revealed that 48% of the respondents aged 18 and above engaged in gambling activities over the last four weeks. Excluding lottery players, the total gambling participation was at 27%.
Concerningly, when asked about how they felt about gambling over the last 12 months, some 21% of the gamblers admitted to experiencing negative emotions. On the bright side, some 41% of the gamblers said they felt positive about their activities in the last year, while 37% pointed to a neutral score.
The gamblers who participated in the research were asked about the reason why they engage in gambling activities. An overwhelming majority of the respondents or 86% said they participate in gambling activities because of “the chance of winning big money.” Some 70% admitted to finding the activity as fun, 58% said they gambled to make money while 55% said the activity was exciting.
An Important Step toward Creating a Robust Source of Gambling Evidence
Tim Miller, the UKGC’s executive director of research and policy, acknowledged the importance of delivering comprehensive gambling-related data. He spoke about the publication of the GSGB, deeming it a vital step toward the development of a “robust source of evidence” for the gambling sector in the country.
Miller pointed to the importance of the report, saying that it will serve as a baseline for future comparison that provides insights and enables a better understanding of the gambling industry.
“One of our aims as a regulator is to ensure we gather the best possible evidence on gambling – and today’s publication is the next significant step forward in our journey on creating a robust source of evidence for gambling in Great Britain.“
Tim Miller, executive director of research and policy at the UKGC
The UKGC confirmed that the newly released data isn’t directly comparable to previous studies. This is because a different methodology called push-to-web was used for the latest report. At the same time, the sample size of the participants was notably greater when compared to other studies.
