UKGC backs GSGB as new baseline for problem gambling research

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published the year-one statistics and datasets of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) for 2023.

The survey is a key directive of the Commission, which in 2021 launched a pilot programme to re-model how data is collected on “adult gambling participation and problem gambling prevalence statistics”.

Adopting a new methodology and data-collection approach, the survey will replace previous datasets provided by the NHS on problem gambling prevalence.

As noted: “The Gambling Commission has today launched a new gambling survey which is set to become one of the largest in the world and establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain.”

Commission CEO, Andrew Rhodes, has supported the application of the re-modelled survey as the most comprehensive evaluation of gambling participation undertaken by a regulatory authority.

Speaking at December’s GambleAware conference, Rhodes noted: “The Gambling Survey for Great Britain has been painstakingly developed to give us the level of detail we need with modernised questions, increased frequency, and flexibility.

“It will also benefit from an increase in scale – with around 20,000 respondents each year when it is fully up and running. It will be the largest survey of its kind in the world.”

The GSGB has been academically reviewed by Professor Patrick Sturgis of the London School of Economics (LSE), who praised the research methodology using a push-to-web format as ‘exemplary’. 

However, Professor Sturgis warned stakeholders to apply caution to the estimates of the prevalence of gambling harms, as “policymakers must treat them with due caution, being mindful of the fact there is a non-negligible risk that they substantially overstate the true level of gambling and gambling harm in the population.”

In the build-up to publishing year-one statistics, the UKGC cautioned against using GSGB data for direct comparisons with previous insights provided by NHS health surveys, to measure the impact of gambling addiction and harms in the UK.

Though warning against like-for-like comparisons, the Commission stands by the survey providing greater insights on “who participates in gambling, what type of gambling activities they participate in, experiences of and reasons for gambling, and the consequences that gambling can have on individuals and others close to them”.

As such, the GSGB aims to provide “the first year of a new baseline survey against which future trends can be assessed”.

Of significance to stakeholders, the GSGB presents 16 dedicated datasets providing survey insights on ‘Consequences of Gambling’ (marked as Table-D research).

Researchers maintain the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) to measure symptoms of gambling disorder and adverse harms. The index measures responses to problem gambling questions “using a nine-item scale rated on a four-point system” to classify scores from 0 to 27. The scores are categorised as follows: 0 (no adverse symptoms), 1-2 (low risk), 3-7 (moderate risk), and 8+ (high risk).

The survey underscored the PGSI categories as a comprehensive methodology to “represent a continuum of risk, ranging from those experiencing no adverse consequences or behavioural symptoms of disorder to those experiencing both.”

Datasets on ‘Problem Gambling Severity by sex and age’ detailed a PGSI score (+8) on all participants of 2.5%, with the highest index attributed to the age range of 25-to-34 at 5.2%.

However, a breakdown of ‘distribution scores’ for the age range of 18-to-24 (9.1%) indexed the highest PGSI (+8) for participants who gambled in the past twelve months.

The distribution of PGSI scores for gambling activity ranked the highest risk of +8 for ‘Betting on the outcome of events in person’ at 39%, followed by the activity of ‘fruit and slots online’ at 24.5%. 

Beyond PGSI scores, new datasets provide insights into the consequences of gambling harms, detailing negative impacts on respondents’ lives.

Among those who gambled, relationship breakdowns were the most commonly reported ‘severe consequence’, affecting 1.6% of participants, with younger adults aged 18-34 experiencing these severe consequences more frequently (5.9%) compared to older adults aged 55 and over (0.7%).

Adverse consequences included reducing spending on everyday items (6.6%), lying to family (6.4%), and feeling isolated (5.5%).  Suicidal thoughts or attempts were noted, with 11.4% of participants having thought about or attempted suicide in the past year. Of these, 4.9% related their suicidal thoughts or attempts to gambling, with 1.1% attributing it to gambling significantly.

When it comes to consequences from someone else’s gambling, 4.7% of adults who knew someone who gambled reported experiencing at least one severe consequence, with relationship breakdowns being the most common (3.5%).

Other potential consequences included feelings of embarrassment, guilt, or shame (9.9%), conflict or arguments (8.8%), and health problems such as stress and anxiety (7.5%). 3% of those affected by someone else’s gambling sought support, with sources ranging from mental health services (1.3%) to gambling support services (1.5%).

GSGB year-one statistics were signed by Tim Miller, Executive Director of Research and Policy, who commented on the new baseline: “One of our aims as a regulator is to ensure we gather the best possible evidence on gambling – and today’s publication is the next significant step forward in our journey towards creating a robust source of evidence for gambling in Great Britain.

“Data in this report represents the first year of a new baseline, against which future changes can be compared and as such will prove invaluable in deepening further our understanding of gambling across the country.”