Reducing gambling harm among young people

Approximate read time: 25 minutes

1.  Key points

• The Gambling Act 2005 identifies protecting children and vulnerable people from gambling-related harm as a core licensing objective. Most forms of gambling in Great Britain are restricted to those aged 18 or over. Gambling operators are required to have measures in place to prevent underage gambling and to adhere to advertising codes intended to protect children.
• 59% of 11–17-year-olds have some experience of gambling; this proportion has remained relatively constant over the last few years. The most popular individual activity among this age group was arcade games. Most children aged 11 to 17 had not placed a bet with their own money in the last 12 months. But the proportion of that age group who had rose between 2024 and 2025, an increase the Gambling Commission said appeared largely driven by unregulated gambling.
• The Gambling Commission estimates that 1.2% of 11–17-year-olds were experiencing problem gambling in 2025 and a further 2.2% were at risk. Young adults are more likely than older adults to experience gambling-related harms. This is partly due to young adults’ engagement in higher-risk gambling activities such as casino games and online instant-win games.
• Campaign groups, charities and parliamentarians have called for tighter controls on gambling advertising and sponsorship to protect young people. Proposals include a pre-watershed advertising ban, restrictions on sports sponsorship and stronger regulation of social media and influencer marketing.
• The government has introduced measures aimed at reducing gambling harms, including lower online slots stake limits for 18–24-year-olds and a statutory gambling levy to fund research, prevention and treatment. It has also established an illegal gambling taskforce and is consulting on proposals to prohibit advertising and sponsorship arrangements involving unlicensed gambling operators.

2.  Regulation to protect children

The House of Lords is scheduled to consider the following question for short debate on 23 July 2026:

Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat) to ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reduce gambling harm among young people.

Gambling regulation is intended to protect children from gambling harms. This is made explicit in the Gambling Act 2005. It specifies that “protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling” is one of the licensing objectives that underpin the functions of the Gambling Commission (the gambling regulator) and local authorities in their role as licensing authorities.^[1]

Age restrictions apply. The minimum age for most types of gambling in Great Britain is 18.^[2] This applies to betting shops, bingo halls, casinos, race tracks, online gambling and some types of arcade. The Gambling Commission requires any organisation offering gambling facilities in Britain to have procedures to prevent underage gambling. This includes both online betting sites and physical premises.^[3] The Gambling Commission regulates online businesses that have gambling websites or apps trading with British customers, or that have key equipment in Great Britain that is used to facilitate remote gambling.^[4] All the Gambling Commission regulated gambling websites must have:^[5]

• up-to-date policies and procedures designed to prevent underage gambling
• a warning that underage gambling is an offence
• a requirement that customers affirm they are legally old enough to gamble

There are also rules around the advertising of gambling. The Gambling Commission requires licensed operators to comply with the UK advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice(CAP) and administered by the Advertising Standards Authority.^[6] The ‘UK code of non-broadcast advertising and direct and promotional marketing’ (the CAP code) applies to non-broadcast advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing communications. The ‘UK code of broadcast advertising’ (the BCAP code) applies to advertisements and programme sponsorship credits on radio and TV services licensed by Ofcom. In both codes, the chapters on gambling contain specific rules about depicting and marketing to children and young people (among other rules). Gambling advertisements must not:^[7]

• exploit the susceptibilities, aspirations, credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge of under-18s or other vulnerable persons
• be likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture
• include a person a character whose example is likely to be followed by those aged under 18 years or who has a strong appeal to those aged under 18
• feature anyone who is, or seems to be, under 25 gambling or playing a significant role; no-one may behave in an adolescent, juvenile or loutish way

The same rules apply to marketing communications for gambling.^[8] Additionally, marketing communications for gambling must not be targeted at people below 18 through the selection of media or the context in which they appear.^[9]

The CAP issued updated guidance in October 2025 on how advertisers and marketers could ensure compliance with the CAP code and the BCAP code on protecting under-18s.^[10] This included new guidance on the role of social media in determining whether material would have a “strong appeal” to children. The CAP issued an enforcement notice in June 2026 advising gambling businesses to review all their advertising, including social media content, to ensure it complied with the CAP code and remove or amend any ads likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s.^[11] The CAP said it would use its AI-based active ad monitoring system and its partnerships with social media platforms to monitor and enforce compliance with the notice.

For further information about the regulatory regime, see the House of Commons Library briefings on  ‘Gambling regulation in Great Britain’ (2 July 2026) and ‘Gambling advertising: How is it regulated?’ (21 April 2026.)

3.  Prevalence of gambling among young people

Three in five (59%) of 11–17-year-olds have some experience of gambling, according to survey data from the Gambling Commission and Ipsos.^[12] Half (49%) had gambled in the last 12 months. The most popular individual activity was arcade gaming machines (for example penny pushers or claw grab machines), with 35% of young people in this age group having played them within the last 12 months.^[13] The next most frequently cited activities were placing a bet for money between friends or family (19%), playing bingo somewhere other than a bingo club (10%), playing cards for money (9%), playing fruit or slot machines (7%), and National Lottery scratchcards (7%). Figure 1 shows the ten most common types of gambling activity.

Figure 1: Experience in gambling activities in the last 12 months, 11–17-year-olds, top 10 individual activities

The proportion of young people who had ever experienced gambling remained constant over the last few years (60% in 2022 and 59% in 2025).^[14] However, the Gambling Commission identified some developments and trends in young people’s gambling, driven by a rise in unregulated gambling and a shift online:^[15]

• 3 in 10 (30%) of 11–17-year-olds surveyed reported betting with their own money in the last 12 months, with boys (34%) more likely than girls (27%). This represented an increase from 27% in 2024, which the Gambling Commission said appears largely driven by a rise in unregulated gambling (18% in 2025, compared with 15% in 2024).
• Young people are more likely to be exposed to gambling-related advertisements weekly online, rather than offline, specifically via social media (49%) or apps (47%). Boys were more likely than girls to see advertisements related to gambling across various platforms, including video sharing sites, such as YouTube (53% of boys, compared with 31% of girls) and at sports events (57% of boys, compared with 37% of girls). Additionally, 31% of young people who saw gambling-related content (16% of all respondents) reported that influencers had advertised gambling-related content to them.

Children and young people may also be exposed to newer types of gambling online through gaming. The Gambling Commission advises parents to be aware of:^[16]

• eSports betting: eSports is the competitive playing of computer games. The Gambling Commission states that betting on eSports should not be treated differently to betting on any other live event. Businesses offering eSports betting should be licensed and should carry out relevant age and identity checks to ensure the player is old enough to gamble.
• Skins betting: Skins are in-game digital items used in some of the most popular video games, such as alterations to characters, weapons or equipment. The value of skins is based on their appearance, rarity and popularity. The Gambling Commission has cautioned that some websites use skins as a currency for illegal gambling, and there is a risk that children may be gambling using skins.

4.  Young people and gambling harms

The Gambling Commission defines ‘problem gambling’ as “gambling to a degree that compromises, disrupts or damages     family, personal or recreational pursuits”.^[17] The types of harms associated with gambling can include the following, according to an evidence review by Public Health England:^[18]

• Financial, such as debt and bankruptcy. As well as being harms in themselves, the report said they could lead to other types of harm on the list.
• Relationship, including lower levels of family functioning and social support and an increased risk of domestic abuse.
• Mental and physical health, such as an increased risk of dying from any cause and a significantly increased risk of suicide. Problem gamblers were also more likely to suffer from self-harming, depression, problems relating to sleep, alcohol and drugs.
• Employment and education, for example a loss of concentration at work that can mean a higher risk of losing a job or being demoted. Child gamblers, and children of gamblers, also experienced difficulties at school.
• Criminal and anti-social behaviour, such as theft, fraud and selling drugs.
• Cultural, for example shame and isolation resulting from societal attitudes to gambling.

The Gambling Commission uses a ‘youth-adapted problem gambling screen’ to try and measure the extent of harmful gambling among children (11–17-year-olds).^[19] It found that 1.2% of children had spent their own money on at least one gambling activity in the past 12 months and were experiencing problems with their gambling, indicated by a score of 4 or above on the screening questionnaire. A higher proportion—2.2%—scored 2 or 3, meaning their gambling put them “at risk” of experiencing problems. Most children (69.6%) had not spent any of their own money on gambling in the past year. Another 27.0% had spent some of their own money on gambling, but scored 0 or 1, indicating that they were not experiencing problems due to gambling. The Gambling Commission concluded that although the proportion of children spending their own money on gambling had increased in 2025 compared to 2024, there had not been a comparable rise in those having gambling problems.

Younger adult gamblers are more likely than older ones to experience gambling harms. According to the latest Gambling Commission survey statistics, 10.4% of 18–24-year-olds who had gambled in the past 12 months scored 8 or more on the problem gambling severity index (PGSI), putting them in the category of “problem gambling by which a person will have experienced adverse consequences from their gambling and may have lost control of their behaviour”.^[20] This contrasted with a figure of 4% for adults of all ages who had gambled in the previous 12 months. Similarly, 5.5% of 18–34-year-olds who had gambled in the previous year had experienced one or more serious consequences (such as financial loss, relationship breakdown, violence or abuse, or committing a crime) due to their own gambling, compared to 2.7% across all adult age groups.^[21] However, the age group most likely to have thought about or attempted suicide because of their own gambling was 35–54-year olds (9.9% of those who had gambled in the previous 12 months, compared to 7.7% of 18–34-year-olds).^[22]

The increased occurrence of negative consequences for younger adult gamblers may be explained at least in part by the type of gambling activities they are involved in. Gambling Commission research concluded that “engagement in higher risk gambling activities significantly contributed to the increased risk observed among younger participants”, although it did not fully explain the increased risk for this group.^[23] ‘Higher-risk’ activities included casino games, fruits and slots, and online instant-win games. The Gambling Commission said they shared characteristics such as “rapid and continuous play, near misses and high event-to-event variability in outcomes”, which could “encourage sustained engagement and riskier patterns of play”. This might help explain why participation in these activities contributed to the increased risk of adverse consequences observed among higher-risk groups.

5.  Calls for regulatory change

Several charities, parliamentarians and researchers have argued that stronger restrictions on gambling advertising are needed to reduce children’s and young people’s exposure to gambling-related content.

5.1 Pre-watershed advertising ban

A common recommendation is a pre-watershed ban on gambling advertising. GambleAware argued in March 2026 that the “proliferation of gambling advertising and sponsorship” was a key driver in the normalisation of gambling and called for a ban on all broadcast gambling advertising before the watershed.^[24] Similarly, the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee recommended in 2025 that the government consider limiting gambling advertising before the watershed.^[25] In a joint report in April 2026, the Gambling Reform All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and Peers for Gambling Reform also called for an end to gambling advertising before the 9pm watershed as part of wider efforts to reduce children’s exposure across broadcast and online environments.^[26]

5.2 Advertising

Organisations have also called for tighter controls on the content of gambling advertising. The Health and Social Care Committee recommended strengthening the advertising rules that ensure adverts do not contain elements designed to appeal to children and young people.^[27] GambleAware further recommended that all gambling marketing should include independent, evidence-led health warnings and signposting to support services.^[28]

The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents licensed operators in the UK, is concerned that “illegal gambling firms [are] rapidly increasing their advertising presence in Britain and aggressively targeting consumers online”.^[29] It says that many consumers will not know whether the advertising they see is for licensed or unlicensed businesses, and “that creates a serious risk, particularly for younger audiences who are far more likely to encounter gambling advertising through digital channels than broadcast media”. It argued that “if legitimate operators become less visible while illegal advertisers continue to grow unchecked”, then increasing restrictions on licensed operators would not create a safer market for consumers overall. The Betting and Gaming Council is calling on the government to take actions such as making social media companies responsible for removing illegal gambling content and advertisements, giving the Gambling Commission stronger powers to block illegal gambling websites and apps, and creating tougher criminal sanctions for those who operate or profit from them.^[30] The licensed industry argues that it has “driven major changes in protecting young people”, such as introducing a code of conduct aimed at preventing football clubs using their official social media accounts to promote gambling offers, working with online platforms on opt-outs for gambling advertising and setting up a forum to look at extending filtering for online ads.^[31]

5.3 Sponsorship

A number of stakeholders have argued that sports sponsorship arrangements should be restricted to protect children and young people. GambleAware called for a ban on gambling advertising at sporting events, including the removal of sponsorship from sports clothing, merchandise and stadiums.^[32] The Health and Social Care Committee likewise recommended strengthening rules on the sponsorship of sports teams and sporting events by gambling companies.^[33]

The Gambling Reform APPG and Peers for Gambling Reform went further, calling for an end to gambling sponsorship in sport, arguing that existing voluntary codes had failed to limit exposure during live and televised sporting events. Their proposal included a carve-out for horseracing and greyhound racing, on the grounds that these events are not generally attended by children. The groups also recommended ending gambling sponsorship of television and radio programmes to reduce the normalisation of gambling in mainstream media.^[34]

Some sports teams have voluntarily introduced restrictions on sponsorship from gambling operators. Premier League football clubs agreed in 2023 to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts from the end of the 2025–26 season.^[35] However, this agreement did not extend to sponsorship on shirt sleeves or pitch-side hoardings.^[36] There are ongoing concerns about sponsorship, including of football clubs, by unlicensed gambling operators. The government is consulting on measures to address this—see section 6.4 of this briefing. Finding alternative sponsorship arrangements may have financial implications for sports teams and clubs. As the ban on gambling sponsorship on the front of shirts came into force from the start of the 2026–27 season, it was reported that Premiership clubs could collectively face up to £80mn of lost sponsorship if they did not find new sponsors.^[37]

5.4 Digital marketing

Several organisations have highlighted concerns about the growing role of digital marketing, influencer promotion and social media platforms in exposing children and young people to gambling content. GambleAware argued that online marketing presents particular challenges because “the blurring of paid advertising with wider marketing content, such as content marketing and influencer marketing, makes it difficult for children to recognise what is advertising and what is independent content”. The charity called for stronger regulation of online gambling content and for a single government department to take the lead on online safety issues relating to gambling harms.^[38] The Health and Social Care Committee recommended aligning the regulation of social media advertising with the broader regulatory approach applied to other forms of advertising.^[39]

The Gambling Reform APPG and Peers for Gambling Reform joint report proposed strong restrictions on content marketing and influencer-led promotion, arguing that such advertising is “often indistinguishable” from content. They also called for an end to gambling advertising and promotion in children’s video games and youth-oriented digital environments.^[40] Research by Social Finance, GamCare and Ygam found that children and young people are “regularly and often passively exposed” to gambling-related influencer content on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Twitch, and that those who follow gambling influencers are more likely to engage in high-risk gambling-related behaviours. The report recommended stronger guidance on the labelling, placement and promotion of gambling-related influencer content, including measures to address algorithmic amplification and to ensure gambling promotions are not disguised as entertainment.^[41]

Some organisations have argued that reforms should extend beyond advertising and sponsorship to cover direct marketing practices and the promotion of particular gambling products. The Health and Social Care Committee recommended limiting the frequency and types of promotions and incentives used to encourage people to gamble.^[42] The Gambling Reform APPG and Peers for Gambling Reform called for an end to direct marketing and inducements, moving beyond the current opt-in approach. They also recommended prohibiting the advertising of higher-risk gambling products, including online slots, and introducing tighter controls on cross-selling practices.^[43]

6.  Government policy

6.1 Stake limits for online slots

The government has introduced some measures to tackle gambling harms, following a commitment in Labour’s 2024 general election manifesto.^[44] In 2025, it introduced stake limits for online slots games.^[45] The maximum a player can stake per spin depends on their age: a £5 limit applies to those aged 25 and over, but a lower limit of £2 applies to players aged under 25. The government said it was introducing a stake limit because “there is strong evidence that online slots games are one of the highest-risk gambling products due to rapid and repetitive play, and the current ability to stake theoretically unlimited amounts [which] is likely to exacerbate gambling harm”.^[46] The Conservative government had consulted on the policy prior to the 2024 general election. It said the reason for differentiating by age was that evidence suggested 18–24-year-olds were “associated with higher rates of gambling-related harm and may have a greater risk tolerance compared to other age groups”.^[47]

6.2 Statutory levy

The Labour government also brought in a statutory levy on gambling operators from April 2025 to generate funding for research into gambling-related harm (20% of the money raised) and prevention and treatment (30% and 50% respectively).^[48] Gambling operators are required to pay into the levy each year, with rates depending on the type of gambling activity they operate. It raised just under £120mn in 2025. The government has said that gambling harm research may include assessments of youth gambling participation.^[49] Prevention activities, commissioned by the Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities, may include education or awareness-raising programmes to help protect 11–17-year-olds from gambling-related harms.

6.3 Illegal gambling

The government has also been looking at various types of illegal gambling activity that may particularly affect children. It said in 2025 it was considering what future policy changes might be needed to protect children and young people from harms related to skins gambling.^[50] This followed the publication in September 2025 of a rapid evidence review into skins gambling commissioned by the government. The review found that “the anonymity afforded by the platforms offering skins gambling, the absence of age verification at the point of use, and the fact these activities are largely unregulated” made them easily accessible to children and young people.^[51] Skins gambling was found to be “disproportionately common among younger males, particularly adolescents” and it “may be introducing gambling behaviours to children at an earlier age than previously thought”. Furthermore, it was consistently found to be associated with “elevated problem gambling severity”. The review concluded that in Great Britain, skins gambling would meet the legal definition of gambling, but platforms were operating illegally without licences, often outside the jurisdiction of national regulators. Enforcement was hindered by the international nature of the sites. The review recommended enforcing stronger age verification processes, and developing international standards for monitoring and controlling skins gambling to address the issue of cross-border operation.

The government launched an illegal gambling taskforce in January 2026, bringing together technology and social media companies, card payment companies, law enforcement and gambling bodies.^[52] Its role is to make recommendations on reducing the negative impacts of specific aspects of illegal gambling, such as stopping illegal operators advertising on social media platforms and preventing payments to unlicensed gambling sites.^[53] It is set to run for a year. The government said the taskforce could consider issues such as AI chatbots promoting illegal gambling sites to children.^[54]

6.4 Advertising and sponsorship

On the question of further advertising restrictions, the government says it has confidence in the Gambling Commission, the Advertising Standards Authority and the “robust” statutory and voluntary framework.^[55] Alongside this, it says that it will continue to work with a range of stakeholders to ensure that gambling advertising is being regulated effectively and to further strengthen protections for children, recognising that “children’s exposure to gambling advertising is a serious issue”. It highlighted its efforts to work cross-government and with tech platforms to address illegal gambling advertising, which it described as posing “the most immediate risk for children and young people”. In a recent debate on gambling advertising, the government said a balance needed to be struck between supporting a “modern, responsible and sustainable” gambling industry that is that could “bring value through providing jobs, boosting the economy and providing a leisure activity for adults to enjoy” and requiring that “gambling advertising is socially responsible and does not exacerbate harm”.^[56] The government said it would like to see “more action being taken to ensure that advertising does not adversely affect the young and vulnerable”, where there was evidence to support this.^[57]

The government is currently looking at using secondary legislation to prevent unlicensed gambling operators from entering into advertising and sponsorship arrangements in Great Britain. It launched a consultation on this in July 2026.^[58] The consultation document explains that currently, businesses can enter into advertising and sponsorship arrangements with gambling operators that the Gambling Commission do not license if the operators’ services cannot be accessed by consumers in Great Britain. However, consumers can circumvent geo-blocking on these websites by using a virtual private network (VPN). The government said this had become a particular issue over the past year in the sporting sector, especially in football. It is proposing to make it a criminal offence for any club, league, event, venue or individual to advertise or be sponsored by a gambling operator the Gambling Commission does not license. This would include kit and equipment sponsorships, pitch-side billboards, tournament programmes, venue infrastructure, and the naming of events, leagues and venues. The government said one of the key objectives for doing this would be to protect consumers, especially young people, from unregulated gambling platforms that may not offer adequate player protections.

Licensed operators in the UK welcomed the consultation. Industry body the Betting and Gaming Council said “as the harmful black market continues to grow, it is right that the government is taking action to stop illegal operators using sponsorship and advertising to gain credibility and target British customers”.^[59]

The government’s proposal would not go as far as the calls from some campaigners for gambling sponsorship in sport to be banned altogether. However, that is something the incoming prime minister Andy Burnham has previously supported. In 2022, whilst he was mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham argued that gambling sponsorship and advertising in sport had become “normalised” and this needed to change.^[60] He believed that “for the sake of children and young people, it is time to take a stand” and “relegate gambling sponsorship of sport to the history books”.

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