The Young People and Gambling Report is an annual study which helps understand children’s and young people’s exposure to, and involvement in, all types of gambling. The Commission uses the results to better protect this specific group from harm.

As the industry regulator, the Commission requires gambling operators to have strong protections in place to prevent children from accessing products illegally. This also includes rules preventing marketing and advertising being targeted at children.

The Commission explains that historically, understanding the relationship between children and gambling is complex. In this year’s survey, whilst the headline data around regulated age-restricted products is encouraging, there is clearly a group who still struggle with gambling. The Commission says that it is committed to understanding and acting on these findings in more detail to help it, and a variety of other stakeholders, appreciate if and how young people are playing on regulated and non-regulated products, the challenges, and the wider implications.

This year, the survey shows that 31% of children have stated they had spent their own money on gambling in the last 12 months. The vast majority indicated their gambling was legal or did not feature age restricted products. Examples of this include playing arcade gaming machines, which include penny pusher or claw grab machines (22%), placing a bet for money between friends or family (15%), or playing cards with friends or family for money (5%).

A minority of children stated their gambling was on fruit and slot machines (3%), betting on eSports (2%), National Lottery Scratchcards (1%), playing National Lottery online instant win games (1%), placing a bet through a betting website or app (1%), or playing casino games online (1%).

Overall, the 2022 study shows that 0.9% of 11- to 16-year-olds are classed as problem gamblers in Great Britain.

The Commission says that preventing gambling-related harm is at the heart of its work and it has accelerated its drive to make gambling even safer. For example, the Commission has ramped up its enforcement activity against failing operators, including those who have targeted children, clamped down hard on online slots products, increased online age and ID verification, strengthened customer interaction requirements, and banned gambling on credit cards. To read the Commission’s press release and for a link to the 2022 Report, click here.