The Young People and Gambling research was conducted in schools, with pupils completing online self-completion surveys in class. The study collected data from a sample of 3,666 11 to 17 year-olds attending academies, maintained and independent schools in England, Scotland and Wales.

Key findings

This year’s report provides an up-to-date picture of how young people experience and interact with gambling:

• 49 percent of 11 to 17 year-olds had experienced gambling in the previous 12 months
• 30 percent of 11 to 17 year-olds has spent their own money on gambling in the previous 12 months
• the proportion experiencing problems with their gambling is 1.2 percent, statistically stable with 1.5 percent in 2024.

Protecting children and young people

The Commission requires gambling operators to have robust protections in place to prevent children from accessing age-restricted products.

The most common types of gambling activity that young people spent their own money on remained those that are legal or not age-restricted:

• playing arcade gaming machines such as penny pusher or claw grab machines (21 percent)
• placing a bet for money between friends or family (14 percent)
• playing cards with friends or family for money (5 percent).

Protecting children and young people from harm remains a top priority for the Commission. We continue to implement proposals from the Government’s Gambling Act Review White Paper – High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age. (opens in new tab)

As part of this we have already

• introduced new rules which mean all gambling land-based licensees, including smaller licensees, must carry out age verification test purchasing
• required operator staff to check the age of any customer who appears to be under 25 years of age, rather than under 21 years of age.1

Looking ahead: early gambling experiences and gateway products

As part of the Commission’s wider evidence roadmap, we are deepening our research into early gambling experiences and gateway products — examining how children, young people and young adults may first encounter gambling-like activities.

This work explores how experiences such as loot boxes, social gaming, prize draws, and other gambling-adjacent behaviours could shape future engagement with gambling.

More information on this research theme is available at: Early gambling experiences and gateway products.

Tim Miller, Executive Director of Research and Policy, said: “Each year this report further strengthens understanding of the relationship between young people and gambling.

“We have seen an increase in participation in gambling – 27 percent in 2024 compared to 30 percent in 2025. The research shows that it is not children being encouraged or allowed to gamble underage driving this increase – it is the increased participation in gambling that is either legal or does not require regulation, such as private betting between friends.

“Even with that increased participation, the percentage of those scoring four or more on the youth-adapted problem gambling screen has not increased but has moved from 1.5 percent last year to 1.2 percent this year, which is classed as statistically stable.

“Where it relates to regulated forms of gambling, we use the data to continuously keep under review and, where needed, strengthen the suite of protections for young people that we require gambling companies to have in place.”

Read the full 2025 Young People and Gambling Report.