Britain’s gambling regulator dropped a bombshell on November 13th: 49% of teenagers aged 11-17 gambled during the past year.
The Young People and Gambling Report 2025 surveyed 3,666 students across England, Scotland, and Wales, revealing patterns nobody expected.
Most youth gambling happens nowhere near online casinos. Kids are playing arcade machines, betting lunch money on football results with classmates, and wagering on video game outcomes with siblings. Just 6% accessed age-restricted gambling through licensed operators – identical to last year despite overall participation jumping from 27% to 30%.
Where Kids Actually Spend Money
The three most popular paid gambling activities tell the real story:
- Arcade machines (21%) – penny pushers and claw grabs at seaside resorts
- Friend/family bets (14%) – informal wagers on sports or games
- Card games for money (5%) – poker played socially at home
Tim Miller, Executive Director at the regulator, emphasized that unregulated informal gambling drives growth, not children bypassing age checks.
Private betting between friends jumped from 15% to 18% year-over-year.
Payment Gaps Enable Some Underage Access
When youth do reach restricted sites, payment systems become critical. Prepaid options like Paysafecard allow cash-to-digital conversion without bank accounts, potentially enabling underage access if retailers skip age verification.
Traditional networks including Visa implemented gambling-specific merchant codes, but these only work when sites classify transactions properly.
Software providers like IGT, Playtech, and Pragmatic build age verification into platforms, though implementation quality varies wildly between operators.
Social Media Floods Youth With Gambling Ads
Digital advertising reaches British teenagers relentlessly:
- 49% see gambling ads weekly on social media
- 47% encounter promotions in mobile apps
- 31% reported influencers advertising gambling content
- 53% of boys see ads on YouTube versus 31% of girls
- Sports events show 57% boy exposure versus 37% girls
This bombardment happens despite restrictions meant to protect minors. The regulator acknowledged the problem but offered no clear enforcement strategy.
Family gambling also shapes youth views. Nearly 29% watched family members gamble at home. For 7% this caused arguments, while 9% said winnings helped pay for household expenses like holidays.
Problem Gambling Numbers Spark Debate
The 1.2% problem gambling rate sounds low, down from 1.5% last year. However, the DSM-IV-MR-J screening tool includes questions about using lunch money or arguing with parents – behaviors that might indicate normal teenage impulsivity rather than addiction.
Another 2.2% scored as “at-risk” without meeting full problem thresholds. Combined, roughly 3.4% of gambling youth show concerning patterns. Critics note that adult screening tools show near-zero problem gambling in 16-19 year-olds, suggesting youth measurements inflate prevalence.
Analysis from the Jackpot Sounds big win replay hub and other industry observers highlights these methodological concerns. The disconnect between youth and young adult measurements raises questions about whether current tools capture real harm.
What Happens Next
Britain’s youth gambling challenge doesn’t match alarmist narratives. Most participation involves low-stakes social activities. The actionable problems are:
- Licensed operator breaches (6% of youth accessing restricted products)
- Social media advertising that current rules don’t control
- Payment system gaps allowing some underage transactions
The regulator plans expanding research into “gateway products” like video game loot boxes and social casino apps. These gambling-adjacent activities may shape future behaviors, though direct causation remains unproven.
Effective policy must acknowledge that most youth gambling falls outside regulatory control. Tightening rules on licensed operators addresses just 6% of activity while potentially pushing more into unregulated spaces. The real challenge is balancing protection with pragmatic recognition that teenage betting on football results with friends isn’t disappearing regardless of legislation.
