GAMSTOP reports rise in young players using self-exclusion

The charity said the number of under 24s using the UK’s national scheme has risen by 16 per cent.

UK.- GAMSTOP, which runs the UK’s national gambling self-exclusion programme, has reported a 12 per cent rise in younger players aged 16 to 24 using the scheme. The figures have led to concerns about underage gambling.

Data shows that one in two people who registered in the last six months were aged between 16 and 35, leading to a drop in the average age of users. Meanwhile, the Euro 2024 tournament appears to have triggered a rise in sign ups in the second quarter of the year.

The number of people registered on Gamstop reached 482,815 at the end of June. There were 49,494 new registrants in the first half, a rise of 3 per cent. April saw the highest number of new sign ups since the scheme was launched in April 2018. 

However, new registrations were generally higher in the second quarter, and there was an 8 per cent year-on-year rise in July. A spike in numbers was detected after England’s first Euro 2024 group game against Serbia as well as the day after England lost in the final against Spain. Some 49 per cent of new users chose the maximum exclusion period of five years.

GAMSTOP CEO Fiona Palmer said the data shows an urgent need for more targeted support and preventative education for younger people. She added: “The increasing number of registrations we have seen in the first half of 2024 could reflect a growing awareness and proactive approach among individuals to tackle gambling-related issues.”

The Gambling Commission has reported that online gross gambling yield (GGY) in Britain was up 12 per cent year-on-year at £1.46bn for the March to June quarter. Online slots GGY was up 10 per cent year-on-year at £642m on the back of record-high numbers of spins and average monthly active accounts.

The number of spins rose by 12 per cent to 22.4 billion, and the number of average monthly active accounts grew by 11 per cent to 4.4 million. Across all verticals, the number of bets and/or spins rose by 11 per cent to 24.5 billion while active accounts were up by 9 per cent.