UK Gambling Commission Releases Third Annual Report from Gambling Survey for Great Britain

The UK Gambling Commission released the third annual report from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain on 16 July 2026, and this marks the first occasion when three consecutive years of comparable official statistics cover the period from 2023 through 2025, while the survey draws on responses from around 20,000 adults each year to track participation, behaviours, attitudes and consequences across Great Britain.

Data shows headline participation held steady at 47 percent of adults who gambled in the past four weeks, and the figure drops to 27 percent when lottery-only players are excluded, while problem gambling rates remained stable with 2.4 percent of respondents recording a PGSI score of 8 or higher.

Survey Scope and Methodology

Researchers collected the information through a structured questionnaire that reaches a representative sample each year, and the consistent approach now allows direct year-on-year comparison for the first time since the survey began, while the sample size of approximately 20,000 respondents provides a robust base for national estimates.

Commission statisticians weighted the results to reflect the adult population of Great Britain, and they applied the Problem Gambling Severity Index to measure harm levels across the sample, yet the stable headline figures indicate little movement in overall engagement or in the proportion experiencing problems.

Participation Trends Across Three Years

Figures reveal that 47 percent of adults reported gambling in the past four weeks across each of the three survey waves, and the 27 percent rate that excludes lottery-only players stayed equally consistent, while these numbers cover all forms of gambling from lotteries and sports betting to casino games and online slots.

Observers note that the stability persists even as new products and marketing channels appear, and the three-year data set now supplies a clearer baseline against which future changes can be measured, yet no significant shifts appear in the core participation metrics released so far.

Problem Gambling Rates Remain Level

The report records that 2.4 percent of respondents scored 8 or higher on the PGSI in each of the three years, and this threshold indicates problem gambling according to the standard scale, while the unchanged rate suggests the overall prevalence of harm has not moved measurably during the period covered.

Analysts at the Commission compiled these scores alongside questions on gambling frequency and spend, and the resulting dataset allows comparisons across demographic groups, yet the aggregate figure for problem gambling stayed constant from 2023 to 2025.

Motivations for Gambling

Respondents identified the chance of winning big money as their primary reason in 84 percent of cases, and this motivation ranked highest among all listed options across the three survey years, while other factors such as entertainment and socialising received lower mention rates.

The survey asked participants to select from a range of possible reasons, and the consistent ranking of the jackpot motive appears in every annual wave, yet the data also captures secondary reasons that vary slightly by age and gambling type.

Accessing the Full Dataset

The Commission published the complete Gambling Survey for Great Britain (Annual Report 2025): Official statistics alongside summary tables and methodology notes, and users can download the underlying data files directly from the regulator's website for further analysis.

Stakeholders including policymakers, treatment providers and academics now have access to three aligned datasets, and this continuity supports more precise tracking of trends over time, while the Commission continues to refine question wording and sampling techniques for future waves.

Conclusion

The 16 July 2026 release supplies the first three-year run of comparable statistics on gambling in Great Britain, and the stable participation and problem-gambling figures stand alongside the dominant motivation of winning large sums, while the survey's scale and consistency offer a solid foundation for ongoing monitoring.