1.40m Britons Suffering from Gambling-Related Issues, Says UKGC

by Jamie Smith, 7 October 2025

A landmark study has found that 1.4 million people in Britain could be suffering from gambling-related problems such as addiction issues.

Addiction to gambling could be a growing issue around the UK. © lechenie-narkomanii, Pixabay

Key Facts:

• The new annual report from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain has been released
• It is claimed to be the biggest study of gambling participation, behaviours and consequences on the planet
• Survey was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research in conjunction with the University of Glasgow
• With 19,714 respondents, the study had a very large sample size

The second annual report of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GBGB) has been released, with the Gambling Commission providing an insight into the study findings.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland teamed up with the National Centre for Social Research to poll almost 20,000 for the report.

It found that almost half (48%) of adults in Great Britain have taken part in some form of gambling over the course of the last four weeks.

The GSGB also found this drops to 28% when people whose only form of gambling was buying lottery tickets were excluded from the results.

Problem Gambling Spotlighted

One of the key findings of the GSGB related to those who are suffering from gambling issues.

According to the new study, 2.7% of adults aged 18+ in Great Britain recorded a score of eight or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI).

While this is statistically stable when the data is compared to 2023, it may raise questions about whether new regulations are required to provide controls for the industry.

The new GSGB comes only a short time after a report suggested the launch of the UK’s new statutory gambling levy could lead to charities struggling to maintain their operations.

GambleAware is being wound down thanks to the new levy coming in, with the organisation previously having been directly funded by voluntary contributions from the industry.

Key Building Block

Commenting on the new study, the Gambling Commission’s chief executive Andrew Rhodes described the Gambling Survey for Great Britain as a “key building block of the evidence base” required to help the government understand gambling behaviour and potential consequences.

In a statement, he said: “This year’s findings deepen our understanding of consequences from gambling and provide crucial insight into risk profiles among those who gamble most frequently. We strongly encourage operators to use this evidence to consider the risks within their own customer bases.”

“Data and research, such as GSGB, is essential to helping us identify where our regulatory focus should be and informs our ongoing work to implement player protection recommendations from the Gambling Act Review White Paper.”

Rhodes explained that the regulator has already brought in new “light-touch” financial vulnerability checks on people spending £150 a month on gambling.

Autoplay of online slot games has also been banned, along with game speeds being slowed down, as part of the measures designed to help people stay in control of their spending.

But the study findings have been criticised by standards body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which insists the figure of 2.7% of people having a gambling problem is inaccurate. The BGC claims the true figure is 0.4% and noted that more than 22 million British adults enjoy a bet each month, most of whom do so safely.