2023 Young People and Gambling Report – A Summary

The annual Young People and Gambling Report for 2023 is out, shedding light on the exposure and involvement of youngsters in different gambling activities. While the study was run by the UK Gambling Commission, its findings provide a snapshot of gambling activity among young people worldwide, revealing plenty of interesting trends and changes concerning young people’s gambling habits.

Key Findings

As is normally the case in these kinds of studies, the report is incredibly long. Fortunately, you don’t have to read it the whole way through because we’ve done it for you. These are the most important findings from the 2023 Young People and Gambling Study.

How Many Young People Have Gambled This Year?

The research unveiled that 26% of the respondents had spent their personal money on some form of gambling in the past year. This marks a 5% point decrease when compared to the 31%  of young people who gambled in the previous year.

Most Popular Forms of Gambling

The report highlights that the most common forms of gambling that young people spent their own money on were legal or did not involve age-restricted products. These activities include:

1. Playing arcade gaming machines like penny pushers or claw grab machines (19%)
2. Placing a bet for money between friends or family (11%)
3. Playing cards with friends or family for money (5%)

Problem Gambling

The youth-adapted DSM-IV-MR-J screen identified 0.7% of the respondents as problem gamblers, a slight decrease from 0.9% from the previous year. Moreover, 1.5% of the respondents were identified as at-risk gamblers, down from 2.4% in 2022.

Exposure to Gambling Advertisements

In 2023, 55% of participants reported having seen gambling advertisements offline, while 53% reported seeing them online. Both these percentages are lower than those recorded in 2022, where 66% had seen gambling adverts offline and 63% had seen gambling adverts online.

In the USA, this statistic is likely to have increased if a similar study had been done here. This is because there has been a huge proliferation of gambling advertisements as more licensed gambling brands have launched across America.

Especially during broadcast sports, it’s very likely that young people in the USA are more exposed than ever to gambling ads.

What Does It All Mean?

An analysis of the study indicates a significant decrease in the number of young people participating in gambling activities. One of the possible reasons for this decline could be the increasing awareness about the potential harms of gambling, leading to more informed decisions by young people.

Decrease in Problem Gambling

The decrease in the prevalence of problem gamblers and at-risk gamblers is a promising sign. This trend suggests that preventive strategies and awareness campaigns about the risks associated with gambling may be effective.

Reduction in Exposure to Gambling Advertisements

The decrease in young people’s exposure to gambling advertisements, both online and offline, is a positive indicator. This could be due to stricter regulations and increased efforts to prevent marketing of such content to underage audiences.

Recommendations

The report recommends continuing efforts to reduce the exposure of young people to gambling and to provide them with the necessary knowledge and resources to make informed decisions about gambling

It also calls for further research into the factors that contribute to problem gambling among young people to develop more effective prevention and intervention strategies.

The Young People and Gambling Report 2023 provides valuable insights into the gambling habits of young people. The study’s findings serve as a critical resource for policymakers, academics, gambling charities, and those within the gambling industry. These statistics are used widely within the Government and the Commission for various purposes, including understanding why young people choose to gamble and why they choose not to.