Gamstop registrations hit record levels despite new 0.2% problem gambling rate
Almost 44,000 sign up to service in H1 2022 even though UKGC figures suggest problem gambling rates remain stable
Gamstop has recorded its highest number of daily registrations since its launch in 2018 with 371 people on 1 July using the free tool to self-exclude across UK gambling sites.
Overall registrations for the first half of 2022 topped 43,500, a 9% year-on-year (YoY) increase, while the monthly average was more than 7,000 new sign-ups.
A record number of women self-excluded in February, accounting for a third of registrations that month and 30% of all those registered with Gamstop.
In the second quarter of 2022, there was a 5% increase in registrations from 16-24-year-olds. Almost six in 10 (58%) of all those who signed up this year were under 35.
To date, Gamstop has recorded more than 300,000 total registrations.
Fiona Palmer, Gamstop CEO, said: “Our most recent data suggests gambling-related harm remains a serious problem, and it is widely accepted that action is needed to protect those most at risk. We are now recording an average of more than 7,000 new registrants each month, which is almost a double-digit increase YoY.”
The figures were released at the same time the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced that problem gambling rates were statistically stable at 0.2% for the year to date. This rate is recorded as stable in comparison to the 0.4% for the same period in 2021.
This figure comes from data collected through phone interviews using the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), which consists of three questions scored between never and almost always that are asked to people who have gambled in the last 12 months.
According to these figures, problem gambling rates in men are 0.3%, which is lower than last year, but the UKGC has stated that this isn’t statistically substantial.
Contrary to the increase in female registrations to Gamstop, the regulator stated that women’s problem gambling rate was only 0.1%.
In a similar contradiction to the Gamstop figures, the data showed that 16-24-year-olds had a problem gambling rate of 0.8%, while those aged 25 to 34 were at 0.3%.
These figures have come in for criticism in the past, as back in March the UKGC contradicted a YouGov poll.
Following that discrepancy, the UKGC announced it was planning to introduce a new way to measure problem gambling prevalence.