Nearly Half Of All Adults Gamble
Overall gambling participation in Great Britain held steady this year. According to findings published by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the National Lottery has remained the most popular activity. The findings come from the latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) Wave 2, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research.
Researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of 4,750 adults aged 18 and over between 7 April 2025 and 20 July 2025. They found that 47% of adults gambled at least once in the past four weeks. This is practically unchanged from 48% during the same period in 2024 and similar to Wave 1 from earlier this year.
The Wave 2 findings provide an official snapshot of gambling behaviour during spring and early summer 2025. Wave 1 is concerned with the beginning of the year.
About 19% of adults reported only participating in lottery draws, including both the National Lottery and other charity lotteries. Excluding lottery-only participants, overall gambling participation levels were at 28%, slightly higher than 27% in previous comparable periods.
Lottery Is King
Lottery participation varied among different age groups. Overall, gambling was highest, at 54%, among adults aged 55 to 64. 56% of males and 52% of females in this age group reported gambling activity. When lottery-only players were excluded, the highest participation shifted to adults aged 25 to 44. Within this group, males aged 25 to 34 had the highest rate at 43%, while females aged 35 to 44 peaked at 33%.
After the lottery, the most popular gambling activities were sports betting and scratchcards, each played by 12% of adults. Closely followed by online instant win games at 8%. Betting participation rose three percentage points from Wave 1. However, overall participation remained consistent with the same period last year.
The UKGC also separated horse racing and dog racing for the first time. Horse racing betting rose from 4% to 7%. This reflects seasonal trends and major racing events such as the Grand National.
Online Gambling Results
Online gambling participation remained steady at 38%; this figure drops to 17% when lottery-only players are excluded. The most popular online activities were National Lottery tickets at 25%, other charity lottery draws at 15%, and sports or racing betting at 10%.
In-person gambling participation was 28% overall and 18% excluding lottery-only participants. Among in-person play, National Lottery tickets were most popular at 15%, followed by scratchcards at 12%. Other charity lottery events came in at 6%, sports and racing betting is at 4%, while bingo is at 3%.
The survey also examined motivations for gambling. The most commonly cited reasons for gambling were “for the chance to win big money” and “because it’s fun.” Those aged 18 to 24 were the only age group where “because it’s fun” was the most common reason for participation, rather than financial gain.
The UKGC highlighted that survey statistics are estimates based on sampling and are subject to a margin of error. It should be noted that changes in survey methodology mean these figures are not directly comparable with earlier results.
