SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
One in four students who gamble may be experiencing harm and one in two say that gambling has affected their university experience, research carried out by Censuswide has found.
The study is a follow up on a survey in 2022 which was commissioned by education charity Ygam and GAMSTOP, a national online self-exclusion service.
In a total of 2,000 students across the UK, 71% of them revealed that they had gambled in the last 12 months.
Amongst those students who had gambled in the previous year, 28% were found to be at ‘moderate risk’ and 24% had behaviour categorised as ‘problem gambling’.
Dr Jane Rigbye, Chief Executive Officer at Ygam, stated: “These findings give us insight into the attitudes and behaviours of students towards gambling.
“Building on the data published last year, we can now see that not only are a large percentage of the student population gambling on a regular basis, many of them are doing so in a way that may cause them to experience harm.”
Half of all respondents reported that gambling had impacted their university experience, with 13% having trouble paying for food, 10% missing lectures and tutorials, 10% saying gambling affected their assignments and grades, and 9% struggling to pay bills or for accommodation.
Despite this, 45% of those who gamble were unaware of the support available to them from their universities.
“The data further emphasises the importance of educating our young people on the risks associated with gambling,” Rigbye continued. “We’re working with our partners to tour university campuses across the UK to speak to students, deliver specialist training to university staff and to raise awareness.
“It is crucial that universities engage and take this issue seriously. We aim to work closely with many more universities to ensure they can help prevent the harms and support their students when they need it.”
Additionally, almost one in two students who gamble (48%) say they gamble to make money, but only 11% report winning money in an average week.
One in three say they spend £11-£20 per week on gambling; nearly one in four (23%) spend £21-£50; and 13% spend £51-£100. 4.5% say they gamble because they are unable to stop.
Along with savings and their own earnings, some students are borrowing money to fund their gambling, with 8% borrowing from family and friends and 6% using payday loans.
Interestingly, more than 40% of students have bought cryptocurrency in the last year, which is much higher than the figure for the overall population.
Bray Ash, 29, who spent many years battling a gambling addiction as a student and is now studying to become a Mental Health nurse, said: “For many, the research commissioned by GAMSTOP & Ygam will come as a surprise. However, for me it’s a reminder of the seriousness and proximity to gambling addiction that students face on a daily basis.
“During my time at university, I dealt with a severe gambling addiction that saw me confined to my room for days at a time. I spent my time in my room, alone and isolated, gambling day and night. I only left my room to buy food and on the odd occasion, I would see a friend.
“Propped up by the money from my student loan, I was able to fall into a gambling addiction that spiralled out of control until one day I managed to work up the courage to talk to my friends and family about it and get myself into rehab.
“At the time when I was first going through university, resources like GAMSTOP weren’t around. Now that they are and they are helping thousands of students, it’s always one of my first recommendations to anyone who feels that they might be experiencing gambling harms.”
