2024 Gambling Survey for Great Britain: Participation, Risks, Actions

The Gambling Commission has released the second annual report from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), described as the world’s largest dedicated study of gambling participation, behaviours and consequences. Produced by the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Glasgow, and independently reviewed, the GSGB complements the Commission’s broader research programme.

According to the report, 48% of adults aged 18+ in Great Britain gambled in the last four weeks; when those who only bought tickets for a lottery draw are excluded, the figure is 28%. Over the past 12 months, 42% of adults who gambled rated the last time they gambled positively, compared with 21% who rated it negatively. The most cited reasons for gambling were the chance of winning big money (85%) and because gambling is fun (72%). In 2024, 2.7% of adults aged 18+ scored 8+ on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), a rate that is statistically stable compared to 2023.

The GSGB’s large sample size—19,714 respondents—enabled the Commission to publish two supplementary reports. One examines risk profiles among people who gamble weekly, showing that levels of risk vary not only between different products but also within product categories, reinforcing the need for operators to account for product-level risks in their customer bases. The second looks at the potential negative consequences of gambling, reinforcing earlier qualitative evidence that harms can affect multiple aspects of life at the same time, including relationships and health.

Recent research by Professor Patrick Sturgis, aimed at understanding how methodology affects survey estimates, has strengthened confidence in the robustness of the GSGB’s figures.

Today’s release sits alongside other Commission publications over the last year: four quarterly updates tracking gambling participation; a University of Glasgow deep dive on the relationship between reasons for gambling and specific gambling activities; a second University of Glasgow deep dive on the link between gambling activities and PGSI scores; new research into people’s experiences of gambling consequences; the Commission’s response to the Office for Statistics Regulation review of the GSGB; and experimental findings exploring why different gambling surveys can produce different estimates.

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Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “The Gambling Survey for Great Britain is a key building block of the evidence base which helps government, industry and other partners understand both gambling behaviour and potential consequences from gambling.

“This year’s findings deepen our understanding of consequences from gambling and provide crucial insight into risk profiles among those who gamble most frequently. We strongly encourage operators to use this evidence to consider the risks within their own customer bases.

“Data and research, such as GSGB, is essential to helping us identify where our regulatory focus should be and informs our ongoing work to implement player protection recommendations from the Gambling Act Review White Paper.

“We have already introduced light-touch financial vulnerability checks on those spending £150 a month, reduced the intensity of all online games by banning autoplay and slowing game speed, and tightened age verification in premises.

“We’ve also banned potentially harmful marketing offers involving consumers having to carry out two or more types of gambling, such as betting and playing slots, and limited the number of times bonus funds must be re-staked before a consumer can withdraw winnings.

He continued: “From the end of this month [31 October] our new rules will give consumer controls over deposit limits and all gambling businesses must prompt their customers to set a financial limit before they make their first deposit.”

“In the land-based sector, we are also considering time and monetary limit setting functionality and safer gambling messaging on machines.

“In addition, we have been piloting enhanced frictionless financial risk assessments for those spending £1,000 within 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days. We are currently analysing the data gathered during the pilot examining data-sharing between credit reference agencies and gambling businesses.”

The Commission notes that online gambling operators should consider the varied risk profiles highlighted in the GSGB—both across and within products—when designing customer protections and interventions.

Source:

, Gambling Commission, 02 October 2025.