UK Gambling Commission: More Gaming Activity, Problem Gambling Near Nil

Posted on: April 27, 2022, 09:11h. 

Last updated on: April 27, 2022, 12:21h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

The UK Gambling Commission just released the results of a new survey on gambling in the country. Participation is on the rise, but problem gambling is virtually nonexistent at just 0.2%.

UK Gambling
A sign for suspended sports displayed in a sports betting shop, above. In the UK, gambling is on the rise. However, problem gambling is almost nonexistent. (Image: Getty Images)

Every quarter, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) conducts a phone survey to see how popular gambling is with the British.

The survey found that 25.7% preferred online options, mirroring a trend two years ago. Despite these two figures increasing from last year, problem gambling remains virtually undetectable at 0.2%. That’s lower than what previous surveys determined.

The survey reached out to 4,018 adults over 16 across the UK to learn about their gambling habits. Some 43.3% of the respondents acknowledged gambling in some form, with 26% favoring in-person activity.

More Gambling, Less Problems

The survey also found that men are still more likely to gamble than women. The survey showed that men between 45 and 54 years old fell into the most-common gambler category. In-person gambling added 3% to the 23% reported a year ago, an obvious result of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions across the country.

Results also showed that sports betting isn’t overly popular, with only 5.2% of the survey participants acknowledging having placed a wager. The big winner was the National Lottery, which covered 27.2% of the survey. Instant-win lottery options, such as scratch-offs, received 7.2%, and 3.4% participated in online slot gaming.

In addition to an almost imperceptible rate of problem gambling, the “moderate- and low-risk rates” were also insignificant. The survey, which Yonder Consulting regularly conducts for the UKGC, measures 0.9% and 1.4%, respectively. The commission brushed off the decline, calling it “not statistically significant.”

Calls for More Action

Anything with a 0.2% rate barely registers on any meter (even non-alcoholic beer has 0.5% alcohol by volume). Still, it’s enough for the UK’s gambling industry to continue to receive pressure to focus more on problem gambling.

GambleAware is joining that push. The problem gambling prevention and treatment charity has voiced its support for a 1% tax on gross gambling yield for all operators. This, it asserts, would lead to $140 million a year in revenue to fight gambling addiction.

Without action now, many more people and families could suffer. That’s why we are calling on the government to introduce a mandatory, one per cent levy of GGY on the gambling industry as a condition of licence,” says GambleAware CEO Zoë Osmond.

Operators already provide voluntary contributions that have, in part, provided hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to the UKGC. In addition, they also contributed to GambleAware and gave $21 million in donations last year. This isn’t enough, though, and some organizations want a mandatory fee.

More Global Attention Needed

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) just completed a study that found a great deal of disparity in how different countries address problem gambling. The research found that, out of the 20 European countries included in the study, only 12 conducted regular problem gambling surveys.

Among the 12, each has its own procedures – some use health as the foundation; others use population. In addition, problem gambling screening protocols vary greatly from one country to another.

As a result, the EGBA would like gaming regulators to collaborate on their responsible gambling efforts. This, asserts EGBA Secretary General Maarten Haijer, would “support an open and inclusive dialogue with other stakeholders about best practices.”