Commission publishes third annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain

The Gambling Commission has today published the third annual report from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB).

The survey has provided three consecutive years of official statistics from 2023 to 2025 on gambling participation, behaviours, attitudes and consequences across Great Britain.

Produced by the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Glasgow, GSGB is one of the world’s largest dedicated gambling surveys, with around 20,000 respondents each year. Its methodology has been independently reviewed and provides the most comprehensive picture currently available of consumers’ views of their gambling, including the National Lottery, in Great Britain.

The survey enables robust trend analysis, allowing the Commission and external stakeholders to identify patterns, track changes over time and develop a deeper understanding of how gambling participation and experiences are evolving.

Key findings from this year’s report include:

• headline participation rates are stable. In 2025, 47 percent of participants aged 18 and over told us they participated in any form of gambling in the past four weeks (27 percent excluding lottery draws only players)
• the most common reasons for adults to participate in gambling were, for the chance of winning big money (84 percent), because gambling is fun (69 percent), to make money (57 percent) and because it was exciting (53 percent)
• the level of the population reporting a PGSI score of 8 or more is stable over the three years (2.4 percent in 2025)
• the majority of gamblers have a positive or neutral feeling towards their gambling. When asked to rate their feelings towards gambling 78 percent had a positive or neutral view.

Tim Miller, Executive Director for Research and Policy, Gambling Commission, said:

“The publication of the third annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain marks an important milestone.

“Three years of GSGB provides a richer, more timely picture of the trend in gambling in Great Britain than has previously been available. It helps us understand not only who gambles and the products they use, but also why people gamble, the range of experiences they have, and the consequences gambling can have in people’s lives. This evidence is a vital part of a wider evidence base that informs policy, regulation and wider public discussion.

“We encourage researchers, policymakers, industry and the wider public to make use of these findings alongside the interactive dashboard and supplementary reports. As with all official statistics, we remain committed to ensuring GSGB continues to meet the highest standards through transparency, independent scrutiny and ongoing methodological improvement.”