Three Years of Steady Data Reveal Gambling Patterns Across Great Britain

The UK Gambling Commission published its third annual report from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain in July 2026, presenting official statistics that cover participation, behaviours, attitudes, and harms for the years 2023 through 2025. Responses from more than 20,000 adults formed the basis for these figures, which track trends across three consecutive years of consistent methodology.

Survey Scope and Methodology

Researchers designed the GSGB to deliver nationally representative data on gambling activity throughout England, Scotland, and Wales. Each annual wave collected responses from thousands of adults aged 18 and over, allowing direct comparison between 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Commission structured questions around frequency of play, preferred products, spending patterns, and self-reported experiences of harm. Because the same core questionnaire ran across all three years, analysts could identify genuine shifts rather than changes caused by survey redesign.

Participation Rates Across the Period

Overall participation remained relatively consistent. Data shows that roughly 48 percent of adults reported some form of gambling in the past year during each wave of the survey. Lottery draws continued to attract the largest share of participants, followed by scratch cards and online slots. Sports betting held steady as the most common form of online gambling, while casino table games and bingo showed smaller but stable audiences. Those who gambled did so at similar frequencies year after year, with most participants reporting monthly or less frequent activity rather than daily engagement.

Attitudes and Public Perceptions

Attitudes toward gambling displayed little movement across the three-year window. Around two-thirds of respondents viewed gambling as an activity that carries risk, and this proportion stayed within a narrow range each year. Support for regulatory measures such as age verification checks and spending limits remained high. The survey also tracked perceptions of advertising exposure; most adults reported seeing gambling adverts at least occasionally, yet the proportion who felt such marketing influenced their own behaviour stayed low and unchanged.

Problem Gambling and Harm Indicators

The headline finding centred on problem gambling prevalence. Rates held steady at 2.4 percent across all three years, meaning the proportion of adults scoring eight or higher on the Problem Gambling Severity Index showed no statistically significant change. Moderate-risk gambling, defined as scores between three and seven, also remained flat. The Commission noted that these figures align with earlier surveys that used comparable instruments, reinforcing the picture of stability rather than fluctuation. Harms reported by participants included financial strain, relationship difficulties, and mental health impacts, yet the overall prevalence of these experiences did not rise or fall markedly between 2023 and 2025.

Demographic Patterns and Product Differences

Breaking the data down by age and gender revealed familiar patterns that persisted year after year. Younger adults continued to show higher rates of online gambling engagement, while older groups favoured in-person lottery and bingo products. Men reported higher participation in sports betting and casino games than women, although the gender gap in overall participation narrowed slightly over the three years. Online gambling grew modestly as a share of total activity, driven mainly by mobile access, yet this shift did not translate into higher problem gambling scores within the measured population.

Regional Consistency Across Great Britain

Regional analysis showed broadly similar outcomes in England, Scotland, and Wales. Participation levels varied by only a few percentage points between nations, and problem gambling prevalence stayed within the same narrow band. The Commission highlighted that sample sizes in each nation allowed reliable national estimates while still supporting a combined Great Britain figure. This consistency across jurisdictions supports the use of the survey for monitoring the effectiveness of current regulatory frameworks.

Release Context and Data Access

The 2025 annual report forms part of a planned series that will continue in future years, giving policymakers and researchers a rolling dataset. The Commission published the full dataset alongside the report so that independent analysts can examine variables not covered in the main publication. Figures from the survey feed directly into regulatory impact assessments and harm-reduction initiatives already underway. Gambling Survey for Great Britain (Annual Report 2025): Official statistics contains the complete tables and methodological notes.

Conclusion

The third GSGB annual report supplies three years of comparable data that show stable participation levels and unchanged problem gambling prevalence at 2.4 percent. With responses from more than 20,000 adults each year, the survey offers a reliable baseline against which future waves can be measured. Observers note that the consistency of these outcomes provides a clear reference point for ongoing regulatory discussions and harm-minimisation efforts across Great Britain.