Gambling among 11-16-year olds on the decline, says UKGC

Gambling rates amongst 11-16-year olds have fallen by 27%, according to a new survey by the Gambling Commission (UKGC).

Per the 2019 Young People & Gambling survey, 11% of 11-16-year olds had spent their own money on gambling within the last seven days, compared with 14% in 2018.

The survey, commissioned by the UKGC and conducted by Ipsos Mori, surveyed 2,943 children across the UK across curriculum years seven to 11.

Researchers originally petitioned 606 schools for responses, but only 124 agreed to participate.

Of the respondents, 69% said they had seen or heard gambling adverts or sponsorships, but 83% said seeing or hearing these ads had not prompted them to gamble.

Only 11% of respondents said they had received direct marketing from companies about gambling.

The survey found that 36% of respondents had spent money on gambling during the last 12 months, down from 39% in 2018.

Seven percent of respondents to the survey claimed to have ever gambled online.

UKGC executive director Tim Miller acknowledged that most of the gambling highlighted in the report occurs legally, but said work needed to be done to restrict access to age-restricted products by minors.

“Where operators have failed to protect children and young people we have and will continue to take firm action,” Miller said.

“This year alone, we have tightened rules and requirements around age verification to prevent children and young people from accessing age restricted products, put free-to-play games behind paywalls, and clamped down on irresponsible products,” Miller added.

Just under two-thirds of survey participants said they feel well informed about the risks of gambling, with 74% of respondents saying they know who they would go to for help if they had problems.

More than half of respondents said they were aware of in-game items, with 44% of those surveyed indicating they had paid money to get in game items via so-called loot boxes.