New UK data highlights impact of gambling on loved ones
The Gambling Commission says new Gambling Survey for Great Britain is providing a broader picture of harm beyond the PGSI framework.
UK.- The British Gambling Commission has released new data that suggests that nearly one in 11 adults in Great Britain suffered harm due to another person’s gambling in 2024. The analysis is based on the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), which asked 19,714 adults detailed questions about gambling activity and its consequences.
Almost half of respondents (48 per cent) said they had someone close to them who gambled, and 9 per cent (around 1.6 million people) reported experiencing at least one negative impact as a result. Of those, 5.3 per cent described severe harms, and nearly one in five reported at least one adverse consequence.
The Gambling Commission said that those identified as “affected others” were more likely to be younger and female, with 55 per cent of the group being women and 46 per cent aged between 25 and 44. Many were also active gamblers themselves: 63 per cent had gambled in the past year, compared with 60 per cent of the wider adult population. Their participation in higher-risk activities such as in-person betting and casino play was significantly higher, with betting rates nearly 3.7 times greater than other gamblers.
Among affected others who also gambled, 21.5 per cent scored in the problem gambling range on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), compared with just 4.5 per cent of all gamblers – a fivefold difference.
What kinds of harms?
Health-related harms were the most common, with 73.7 per cent of affected others reporting at least one consequence. Relationship harms followed at 65.3 per cent, while financial harms were cited by 42.5 per cent of respondents, stress and anxiety by 57.9 per cent, shame or embarrassment by 52 per cent and increased conflict by 45.4 per cent.
More than a quarter of affected others said they had experienced severe harm, including relationship breakdowns, significant financial loss, violence or abuse, and criminal activity. Relationship breakdown was the most cited severe consequence, reported by 74.3 per cent of those cases.
Despite the scale of harm, only 14.5 per cent of affected others sought help in the past year. Those who also gambled were more likely to reach out (18.3 per cent) compared with non-gambling affected others (7.7 per cent). Support services accessed included mental health care, welfare advice, relationship counselling, and gambling-specific programmes.
Significance of the new GSGB data
The regulator said the GSGB’s new consequence-focused questions provide a broader picture of harm beyond the PGSI framework, capturing the experiences of people impacted indirectly by gambling. The regulator stressed that affected others are not a uniform group, with many living in households or social networks where multiple people gamble, compounding risks across financial, relational, and health domains.
Further qualitative research is planned to explore these experiences in greater depth. Last week, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) announced the launch of the UK’s largest independent gambling harms research centre, the Gambling Harms Research UK (GHR-UK) Evidence Centre, which will be funded by the new British Gambling Levy introduced last April.
Meanwhile, the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched its new illegal gambling taskforce.
