Overview
The Gambling Commission has released the latest edition of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) Wave 2 2025, covering the period from April to July 2025. The survey, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research, collected responses from 4,750 adults aged 18 and over.
The survey shows that 47% of adults gambled in the past four weeks. Lottery draws continue to account for the largest share of gambling activity. When respondents who only played the lottery are excluded, participation drops to 28%, providing a clearer picture of broader gambling behaviour.
The survey results come after the Gambling Commission reported that the UK's gross gambling yield for FY25 reached £16.8bn,($22.1bn) with growth across online and land-based sectors and confirmed the GSGB will continue for at least four more years.
It also coincides with reactions to the UK Government's announced increases in remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% and online betting duty from 15% to 25%, which legal experts have warned could have wide-ranging effects on the industry.
Age and gender trends
Overall gambling participation is highest among adults aged 55 to 64, with 56% of men and 52% of women reporting recent gambling. However, when lottery-only players are removed, the most active group shifts to adults aged 25 to 44, with a participation rate of 36%.
Among men, participation excluding lottery-only activity peaks at 43% for those aged 25 to 34. Among women, the highest participation is seen in the 35 to 44 age group at 33%.
Most common gambling activities
Beyond lottery draws, the most common activities in the past four weeks were betting and scratchcards (both 12%), followed by online instant-win games (8%). Betting increased by three percentage points compared with the first quarter of 2025, although levels remain consistent with the same period in 2024.
This wave of the survey also separated horse and dog racing within betting categories. Horse race betting participation rose 3% from earlier in the year, reflecting the timing of certain racing events during the survey period.
Online and in-person gambling
Online gambling participation was 38%, falling to 17% once lottery-only respondents were removed. Most popular online activities were buying National Lottery tickets (25%), charity lottery tickets (15%) and placing sports or racing bets via websites or apps (10%).
In-person participation stood at 28%, dropping to 18% when lottery-only participants are excluded. Common in-person activities included buying National Lottery tickets (15%), scratchcards (12%) and charity lottery tickets (6%). Betting in person accounted for 4% and bingo at venues for 3%.
Respondent observations
Respondents most commonly cited the chance to win a large prize and enjoyment as their primary reasons for gambling in the past 12 months. Adults aged 18 to 24 were the only group where enjoyment was a more common motivation than financial rewards.
Participation trends
Participation trends are broadly consistent with the same period in 2024. However, the reported rate of problem gambling shows a notable change: 2.5% of respondents in 2025 scored 8 or above on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), compared with 0.5% in the previous survey.
Overall participation levels, age profiles and the ranking of popular gambling activities remain similar. Online and in-person participation patterns show the same emphasis on lottery play and betting and motivations for gambling have not changed significantly.
In May 2025, the OSR submitted nine recommendations to the Gambling Commission to improve the GSGB while the survey continues to collect data from around 20,000 respondents annually
