The question of who gambles online UK-wide has a fuller answer than ever thanks to the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB). Its 2025 annual report, published by the Gambling Commission in July 2026, breaks online gambling down by age and sex, and shows that the picture changes completely once National Lottery draws are taken out.
The headline: lottery draws dominate
In the GSGB 2025, 37.9% of adults in Great Britain said they had gambled online in the past four weeks. Fieldwork ran from January 2025 to January 2026 and drew on more than 20,000 responses.
Most of that is lottery play. Excluding people whose only online gambling was a National Lottery or charity lottery draw, the figure falls to 16.0%, and 25.6% bought National Lottery draw tickets online.
Online gambling is now more common than gambling in person, which 27.7% of adults reported, as our comparison of online gambling statistics UK explains.
For the overall participation rate across all formats, see our guide to how many people gamble in the UK.
Online gambling by age
Online gambling by age follows two very different curves. Including lottery draws, participation rises steadily with age to a peak of 45.8% among 55 to 64-year-olds, then falls to 30.9% for those aged 75 and over.
Excluding lottery-draw-only players, the peak moves to younger adults: 21.7% of 25 to 34-year-olds and 21.2% of 35 to 44-year-olds, against just 5.1% of those aged 75 and over.
| Age | Any online gambling | Excluding lottery draws only |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 23.4% | 19.7% |
| 25 to 34 | 33.9% | 21.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 40.7% | 21.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 43.9% | 17.7% |
| 55 to 64 | 45.8% | 13.4% |
| 65 to 74 | 38.9% | 8.2% |
| 75 and over | 30.9% | 5.1% |
The youngest group has the lowest rate including lottery draws, at 23.4%, yet most of their online gambling is on products other than the lottery. Only 9.1% of 18 to 24-year-olds bought National Lottery draw tickets online.
In-person gambling shows a flatter age pattern. It ranged from 20.4% of 18 to 24-year-olds to 31.0% of 65 to 74-year-olds. Online rates are higher than in-person rates in every age group.
The survey records play on any site, including European online casinos without a GB licence, so these age figures describe behaviour rather than the licensed market alone.
Online gambling by sex
Men are more likely than women to gamble online: 41.7% against 34.4% including lottery draws, and 20.1% against 12.1% excluding them.
On young men gambling, the survey shows 25.4% of men aged 18 to 24 gambled online on something other than lottery draws, and 28.3% of men aged 25 to 34, the highest of any group.
Women gambling online are more likely than men to play only lottery-type products. Among women aged 55 to 64, 43.3% gambled online including lottery draws but 11.2% excluding them.
The gap between the sexes is a pattern in survey responses, not a fixed trait, and motivations differ widely, as our article on why do people gamble shows.
Activities by age and sex
Table B.9 of the GSGB shows which online products drive these differences. Sports betting online or via an app was reported by 8.4% of adults, but by 13.3% of men and 3.8% of women, roughly three and a half times as many men (our calculation).
| Online activity, past four weeks | All | Men | Women | Aged 18 to 24 | Aged 65 to 74 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Lottery draws | 25.6% | 28.6% | 22.9% | 9.1% | 27.9% |
| Charity lottery draws | 14.5% | 13.6% | 15.4% | 6.2% | 19.3% |
| Sports and racing betting | 8.4% | 13.3% | 3.8% | 11.4% | 4.3% |
| Instant win games | 7.9% | 8.2% | 7.5% | 10.4% | 3.0% |
| Fruit and slots | 3.3% | 4.2% | 2.4% | 5.3% | 0.9% |
| Casino games | 2.6% | 4.0% | 1.3% | 6.9% | 0.4% |
| Bingo | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 3.7% | 1.1% |
Online slots were played by 5.8% of 25 to 34-year-olds, the highest of any age group, and online casino games by 6.9% of 18 to 24-year-olds. Both fall below 1% among those aged 65 to 74.
Online bingo and charity lotteries are the only online products where women’s participation is higher than men’s.
Sports betting figures count any online bet, whatever the operator’s licence, so customers of betting sites outside the GamStop scheme would appear in participation rates but not in Commission market figures.
Regional differences in England are covered separately in our article on gambling by region England.
Limits of the survey
The GSGB is a push-to-web survey with a postal option, and its figures are estimates with margins of error. The Commission advises against comparing them directly with older surveys that used different methods.
The survey asks about gambling activity, not where operators are licensed. Some respondents may use non-UK casino sites, which sit outside GB licensing data.
Industry returns from licensed operators cannot capture spending at offshore casinos either, so survey data are one of the few ways to see the whole picture.
Finally, the GSGB measures participation, not harm. Taking part in the past four weeks says nothing about how often, how much or how safely someone gambles, and most people in every group did not gamble online beyond lottery draws.
FAQ: who gambles online UK
Answers from the GSGB 2025, published July 2026.
What share of adults gamble online?
37.9% in the past four weeks, or 16.0% excluding people who only played lottery draws.
Which age group gambles online most?
Including lottery draws, those aged 55 to 64 at 45.8%. Excluding them, those aged 25 to 34 at 21.7%.
Do men or women gamble online more?
Men: 41.7% against 34.4% including lottery draws, and 20.1% against 12.1% excluding them.
How many people bet on sport online?
8.4% of adults bet on sports or racing online or via an app in the past four weeks.
Does this cover the whole UK?
No. The GSGB covers Great Britain, so Northern Ireland is not included.
All figures are from the Gambling Commission’s Gambling Survey for Great Britain annual report 2025, tables B.5, B.7 and B.9, covering adults aged 18 and over who gambled in the past four weeks. Fieldwork took place between January 2025 and January 2026. Ratios are our calculations.
- Gambling Commission, Gambling Survey for Great Britain: annual report 2025.
- Gambling Commission, GSGB annual report 2025 data tables (xlsx).
- Gambling Commission, Guidance on using GSGB statistics.
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