The latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain shows stable participation, while younger players, online products and household pressures remain key concerns.
Nearly Half of Adults Gambled
Around 47% of adults in Great Britain gambled during a four-week period in 2025, according to the Gambling Commission’s latest annual survey. About 59% had gambled at least once during the previous year.
Those figures fall sharply when lottery-only players are removed. Just 27% had used another gambling product during the past four weeks, showing how heavily national participation rates are shaped by lottery draws.
The survey covered 20,775 adults across England, Scotland and Wales.
Online Play Is Not as Dominant as It Looks
About 38% of adults gambled online, compared with 28% who played or bought products in person.
Yet once lottery-only activity is excluded, online gambling participation drops to 16%, slightly below the 17% recorded for retail gambling.
For casino and sportsbook players, that means betting shops, racecourses and land-based venues still attract a large audience, even as operators continue to push apps and mobile accounts.
Men were more likely to gamble online than women, at 42% compared with 34%.
Younger Players Use More Products
Adults aged 18 to 24 had the lowest overall participation rate, at 33%, but active players in that group used more products than any other age bracket.
They gambled across an average of 3.6 product types, rising to 3.9 when lottery-only players were removed.
That matters because moving between sports betting, slots, casino games and instant-win products can make spending harder to follow. A few small deposits across several games can quickly turn into a much larger loss.
Big Wins Still Drive Play
The chance of winning a large prize remained the most common reason for gambling, cited by 84% of players.
Around 69% said they gambled for fun, while 57% said they wanted to make money and 53% played for excitement.
Most players rated their latest experience positively or neutrally. Still, gambling as entertainment and gambling as income are very different propositions. Casino games and betting markets are designed to favour the operator over time.
Risk Levels Remain Stable
Around 2.4% of all adults recorded a Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of eight or above. The previous annual figure was 2.7%, though the Gambling Commission said the wider trend remained stable rather than confirming a clear decline.
Among people who had gambled during the past year, 4% scored eight or higher. The rate rose to 10.4% among active players aged 18 to 24.
Higher scores were more common among people using casino games, online slots, online bingo, football pools and non-sports betting products.
These figures show association rather than direct cause, but they point to products that may require closer attention from players and regulators.
Harm Often Starts Small
Around 6.4% of past-year players said gambling had caused them to cut spending on everyday items. Another 5.9% had lied to family, while 5.8% had used savings or borrowed money.
Severe consequences were less common, affecting 2.7% of players, with relationship breakdown the most frequently reported outcome.
Only 3.4% of players had sought support for their gambling. Even among those with the highest PGSI scores, more than half had not looked for help.
What Players Should Take from the Numbers
The national picture changed little during 2025. Participation stayed steady, lotteries continued to inflate the headline figures and most people did not report a negative gambling experience.
The warning signs are found deeper in the data. Younger players use more products, some online casino categories are linked with higher risk scores and everyday financial problems often appear before more serious harm.
For the average player, the most useful figures are not national percentages. They are personal deposits, total losses, time spent and the amount of money still available after the session ends.
