Some 2.5% of the adult population may be experiencing problem gambling – survey

A new survey has said that 2.5% of the UK's adult population may be grappling with problem gambling.

The Gambling Commission findings have sparked concern among campaigners who believe that the extent of gambling harm has been "massively under-estimated for years". The survey, which involved 9,804 participants, is poised to become one of the largest of its kind globally and aims to set a fresh benchmark for understanding Britain's gambling habits.

Back in 2016, the most comprehensive study at the time, the Gambling Behaviour in Great Britain report, estimated the problem gambling rate at just 0.7%. However, the Gambling Commission has cautioned that the latest figures should not be directly compared to previous surveys due to changes in methodology, including an increased sample size.

According to the regulator's recent findings, nearly half (48%) of adults aged 18 and over engaged in some form of gambling in the last four weeks. This number drops to 27% when excluding those who only took part in lottery games.

Of the adults who gambled in the past year, 41% had a positive view of their most recent gambling experience, while 21% perceived it negatively, and 37% remained neutral on the matter. The survey also highlighted that men are more prone than women to exhibit higher Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores, with the highest incidence of problem gambling occurring in the 18 to 34 age bracket.

According to the Gambling Commission, those who bet on non-sports events in person were over nine times more likely to have a problem gambling score (PGSI) of eight or higher, whilst those playing online slots had a six times greater risk. The report noted that 2.5% of all respondents reached this concerning PGSI score.

Tim Miller, the Gambling Commission's Executive Director for Research and Policy, said: "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."

He went onto note that the "Data in this report represents the first year of a new baseline, against which future changes can be compared and as such will prove invaluable in deepening further our understanding of gambling across the country." Professor Patrick Sturgis from the London School of Economics, an independent reviewer of the new survey, urged caution with the findings, warning there may be an overstated level of gambling harm due to the survey's methodology.

Professor Sturgis acknowledged, however, that "The new design of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain will significantly enhance the evidence base on patterns and trends in gambling behaviour." "With an annual sample size of 20,000 individual interviews across the nations and regions of Great Britain, the survey will provide researchers and policy makers with fine-grained and timely data across a broad range of key indicators."

However, the charity Gambling with Lives, which supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, argued that the 2.5% "problem gambling" rate was significantly higher than previous figures and suggested the proportion of people harmed by gambling had been "massively underestimated for years".

Charles Ritchie, from the charity, said: "These figures show what many of us already knew, that the harms caused by gambling have been massively underestimated, with millions of people in the UK affected. The number of people that have considered or attempted to take their own lives confirms the appalling scale of suicides happening now."

He added: "Now legislation needs to catch up with this reality. The new Government must immediately bring in a statutory levy on gambling industry profits to pay for vital prevention and treatment, and take measures to restrict gambling advertising."

Dr Carolyn Downs, a senior lecturer at Lancaster University who leads on research into gambling, said: "I am delighted to see the new Gambling Survey for Great Britain published, and welcome the updated methodology, which will greatly increase knowledge."

One expert reacted to the figures, stating: "I am sadly unsurprised at the key finding of 2.5% of respondents experiencing gambling-related harm, up from previous ballpark figures of 0.3-0.5% of the population, as this chimes exactly with our findings in a large study in the North West of England with almost 2,000 respondents over two years."

But a spokesman for the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) argued: "The methodology used in this survey is different to those previously conducted into betting and gaming. As a result, the Gambling Commission has been clear, this survey should not be used to make direct comparisons with results from prior surveys, as a measure of addiction, or to gross up problem gambling prevalence to the whole population."

"The BGC and our members are committed to raising standards and we welcome any robust study that accurately gauges betting and gaming participation and problem gambling prevalence. The most recent NHS Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4% of the adult population are problem gamblers." the spokesperson concluded.