The Gambling Commission have released their research study among 11-16 year olds in Great Britain. A full copy of the report can be found at the following link: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Young-People-Gambling-Report-2019.pdf
This will take you to the Young People and Gambling Survey of 2019.
The report which was published earlier in October explores the gambling behaviours of young people aged between 11-16 years old in England, Scotland and Wales. It disseminates a survey that was conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Gambling Commission.
The headline findings of the report are as follows:-
- 11% of 11-16 year olds say they spent their own money on gambling activities in the 7 days prior to taking part in the survey. This is down from 14% in the previous year.
- 5% of 11-16 year olds say they have placed a private bet for money (e.g. with friends) in the past 7 days, with a further 3% playing cards for money in the past 7 days.
- 4% of 11-16 year olds report playing on fruit or slot machines in the past 7 days.
- 3% of 11-16 year olds say they have played National Lottery Scratch Cards and 2% say they have played the Lotto draw in the past 7 days.
- 69% of 11-16 year olds say they have seen or heard gambling adverts or sponsorship with 83% of those saying that it had not prompted them to gamble.
- 7% of 11-16 year olds are classified as problem gamblers, 2.7% are classified as at risk. In 2018 those figures were 1.7% and 2.2%.
The Gambling Commission do not feel that the 2019 results represent a significant increase since the previous report.
Tim Miller, executive director of the Gambling Commission said:
“This report demonstrates that children and young people’s interaction with gambling or gambling behaviours comes from 3 sources – gambling that they are legally allowed to participate in, gambling on age restricted products and gambling style games. Any child or young person that experiences harm from these areas is a concern to us and we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to protect them from gambling harms.
Most of the gambling covered by this report takes place in ways which the law permits, but we must keep working to prevent children and young people from having access to age restricted products. Where operators have failed to protect children and young people, we have and will continue to take firm action. 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 pay walls and clamped down on irresponsible products.”
Earlier this month, the Gambling Commission’s chief executive, Neil McArthur, set out clear expectations for the gambling industry about how he wants operators to use data to avoid targeting advertising at young and vulnerable people.
Through the work of the national strategy to reduce gambling harms, the Gambling Commission says that it is developing a range of education and prevention programs to put in place to protect children and young people. This includes partnerships with Gamble Aware and Parent Zone, who offer support for parents and guardians to help them deal with issues around playing gambling style games and gambling.
The report and other initiatives show that the Gambling Commission continue to take the wellbeing of children as a premium in relation to gambling activities. This was also seen last year when the Gambling Commission reported on the back of test purchasing of pubs that they found 88% of pubs in England failed to prevent children accessing 18+ gaming machines.
This is clearly a key area for the Gambling Commission who continue to work to ensure children are not exposed to illegal gambling.