The Gambling Commission’s latest survey of young people and gambling questioned 3,666 pupils aged 11 to 17 in England, Scotland and Wales in 2025. It found that 30% had spent their own money on gambling in the past 12 months, mostly on arcade machines and bets with friends, while 1.2% scored as experiencing problem gambling. This 2026 guide explains what the figures mean.
What counts as gambling for 11-17 year olds
The Young People and Gambling survey is an official statistics release from the Gambling Commission, published on 13 November 2025. Pupils completed an online questionnaire in class at academies, maintained and independent schools across Great Britain.
The survey asks about 17 activities in five groups, from arcade gaming machines and lotteries to betting and private bets between friends. Much of what children report is legal for their age or falls outside regulation, such as low-stake arcade machines or a bet with a parent.
The Commission therefore splits activities into regulated forms, such as licensed betting, casino games and lotteries, and unregulated forms, such as private bets and bingo outside a bingo club. In 2025, 23% of 11 to 17 year olds had spent their own money on a regulated form and 18% on an unregulated form.
The results are not comparable with adult surveys, which use different methods and questions. Adult participation is covered in our guide to how many people gamble in the UK.
Young people and gambling: the 2025 headline figures
Three in five (59%) young people had some experience of gambling, and 49% had experienced it in the past 12 months. Most were with a parent, carer or guardian (75%), and 8% were alone, down from 10% in 2024.
Spending their own money is the main measure in these children gambling statistics. It rose to 30% in 2025, from 27% in 2024 and 26% in 2023, close to the 31% recorded in 2022.
| Survey year | Gambled with own money, past 12 months | DSM-IV-MR-J score 4+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 31% | 0.9% |
| 2023 | 26% | 0.7% |
| 2024 | 27% | 1.5% |
| 2025 | 30% | 1.2% |
Boys were more likely than girls to spend their own money on gambling (34% against 27%). The most common paid activities were arcade gaming machines (21%), bets with friends or family (14%) and playing cards for money with friends or family (5%).
The Commission’s Tim Miller said the rise was driven by gambling that is legal or needs no regulation, such as private betting between friends, rather than by children gambling underage. Regional differences, including higher penny pusher play in Wales, echo the patterns in our article on gambling in Scotland.
Arcade machines: penny pushers and claw grabbers
Arcade gaming machines are the most common form of gambling among children, and the survey shows which arcade machines kids actually use. In 2025, 35% of 11 to 17 year olds had played them in the past 12 months, and 21% had used their own money to do so.
Among those who played, claw grabbers were the most popular machine (73%, up from 70% in 2024), followed by penny pushers (68%). Fewer played fruit machines paying small cash prizes, down from 10% to 8%.
Penny pusher play was highest in Wales (81%), against 68% in England and 65% in Scotland. Girls were more likely than boys to play claw grabbers (79% against 66%).
About one in ten (9%) of those who played arcade machines had done so in an adults-only area, such as an over-18s section of an arcade or holiday park. Most (57%) were with a parent, carer or guardian, but 15% were alone, a reminder that land-based gaming machines remain a large part of the wider market described in our UK gambling industry statistics.
Online gambling and the National Lottery
Online gambling is far less common among children. In total, 8% reported gambling online in the past 12 months, including 3% who bet on a website or app and 3% who played a game on a casino website.
Smaller shares played bingo online or bet on esports (2% each). Boys were more likely than girls to bet online (4% against 2%) or play casino games online (4% against 1%).
Some used a parent’s account: 7% had played National Lottery games and 7% had used gambling websites through a parent’s or guardian’s account without permission. The survey cannot say which sites were involved, and Commission rules on age checks bind only GB licensees, not non-UK casino sites licensed elsewhere.
Lottery-style games were played by 9% of young people, mainly National Lottery scratchcards (7%). Most did not buy them: someone else bought the ticket for 79% of draw players (65% in 2024) and 94% of scratchcard players (89% in 2024).
Problem gambling among 11-17s
The survey measures harm with the DSM-IV-MR-J, a youth version of a clinical screen with nine questions about behaviours such as chasing losses or spending dinner money on gambling. A score of 4 or more is classed as problem gambling and a score of 2 or 3 as at-risk gambling.
In 2025, 1.2% of all 11 to 17 year olds scored 4 or more, which the Commission describes as statistically stable compared with 1.5% in 2024. A further 2.2% scored 2 or 3.
The rate was 1.17% among boys and 0.8% among girls, and peaked at 2.01% among 14 year olds. The Commission warns that this screen is not comparable with adult measures such as the PGSI.
Harms reported by young gamblers include missing school because of gambling (2%, down from 5% in 2024), lying to family or friends (5%) and arguments (7%). Concern about harm to young adults also shaped the separate £2 limit for 18 to 24 year olds explained in our guide to online slots stake limits.
Advertising, influencers and family gambling
Most young people (79%) recalled seeing or hearing gambling adverts or promotion, 74% through an online source and 77% offline. TV (64%), apps (63%) and social media (56%) were the most cited sources.
Exposure is frequent: 49% saw gambling adverts on social media at least weekly, 47% in apps and 46% on platforms such as Twitch or YouTube. Of those who recalled an advert, 7% said it prompted unplanned spending on gambling.
For the first time, the survey asked about influencers. Of the 16% who follow gambling-related content on social media, 31% said influencers had advertised gambling content to them, although the survey does not separate GB-licensed brands from crypto casinos or other unlicensed operators.
Gambling at home matters too. Three in ten (29%) had seen a family member they live with gamble, and 12% of those lost sleep worrying about it, while 7% reported arguments or tension at home.
The law on underage gambling and Think 25
Most commercial gambling is for adults only, but some low-stake arcade machines and private bets are legal for children, which makes underage gambling UK figures easy to misread. Among young people who do not gamble, 40% said they were not interested and 36% said it was illegal at their age.
Since August 2024, Commission rules have required operator staff to check the age of any customer who appears to be under 25, rather than under 21, the approach widely known as Think 25. All land-based licensees, including smaller ones, must also carry out age verification test purchasing.
These rules apply to businesses licensed in Great Britain. European online casinos licensed by other regulators follow their own age-verification rules, which the Commission does not enforce.
- Talk early: 68% of young people said the problems gambling can cause had been discussed with them.
- Know the gateway products: the Commission is researching loot boxes, social gaming and prize draws as early gambling experiences.
- Watch shared accounts: 7% used a parent’s gambling website account without permission.
FAQ: young people and gambling
Quick answers from the Commission’s 2025 survey.
How many children gamble in the UK?
In 2025, 30% of 11 to 17 year olds in Great Britain had spent their own money on gambling in the past 12 months, and 49% had some experience of gambling.
What is the most common form of gambling among children?
Arcade gaming machines such as penny pushers and claw grabbers, followed by bets with friends or family.
How many young people have a gambling problem?
1.2% of 11 to 17 year olds scored 4 or more on the DSM-IV-MR-J screen in 2025, statistically stable compared with 1.5% in 2024.
What is Think 25 in gambling?
Since August 2024, staff at licensed gambling venues must check the age of anyone who appears to be under 25.
Survey of 3,666 pupils aged 11 to 17 in Great Britain, fieldwork January to June 2025. Percentages are survey estimates; some activities are legal for children. The DSM-IV-MR-J youth screen is not comparable with adult screens.
- Gambling Commission, Young People and Gambling 2025: official statistics.
- Gambling Commission, Young People and Gambling 2025 data tables (xlsx), tables 1 to 4.
- Gambling Commission, Latest figures on young people and gambling released, 13 November 2025.
Responsible Gambling in the UK
When the fun stops, STOP. 18+
Only gamble with money you can afford to lose. National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133 (free, 24/7).