The UK Gambling Commission has released a new survey today (July 25) on the consequences of gambling. Industry stakeholders criticised this controversial data even before it was published, as they braced for potential new regulations and significant implications for their sector.

Consequences of gambling

“Overall, 11.4 percent of all participants reported that they had either thought about taking their own life or had attempted to do so in the past 12 months”, reads the survey. “These estimates are higher than those reported by the most recent?Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey in 2014, which estimated that 5.4 percent had thought about suicide in the past 12 months and 0.7 percent had attempted suicide in the past 12 months. Of the 11.4 percent of all participants who reported thoughts about taking their own life or attempts, 4.9 percent reported that this was related to their gambling either a little or a lot. 1.1 percent reported it was related to their gambling a lot.”

Among adults who gambled in the past year, severe consequences included relationship breakdowns (1.6 percent), reducing spending on everyday items (6.6 percent reported this at least occasionally), lying to family (6.4 percent), and feeling isolated (5.5 percent).

The data confirmed the relevance of the PGSI (Problem Gambling Severity Index) as it demonstrated the link between high PGSI scores and the severity of gambling-related consequences. Among those with a PGSI score of 8 or more, 41.3 percent reported experiencing at least one severe consequence. This contrasts sharply with 0.6 percent of those with a PGSI score of 0, who reported severe consequences.

Most risky gambling activities

The PGSI scores reveal the relative risk of severe gambling problems associated with different gambling activities.

Betting on non-sports events in person showed that participants were over nine times more likely to have a PGSI score of 8 or more compared to the average gambler.

Similarly, playing online slots made players more than six times more likely to have a PGSI score of 8 or more.

Impact on gamblers’ relatives

For the first time, the survey explored the consequences of gambling on individuals close to the gambler. Nearly half (47.9 percent) of adults reported knowing someone who gambled. Severe consequences observed included relationship breakdowns (3.5 percent), as well as embarrassment, guilt, shame, conflicts or arguments, and health issues such as stress and anxiety.

Feelings towards gambling

Among adults who gambled in the past 12 months, 41 percent expressed a positive attitude towards their last gambling experience, while 21 percent had a negative perception of their last gambling activity.

When lottery participation was excluded, the pattern remained similar, but with a slightly higher positivity rate of 50 percent.

Motivations for gambling

Motivations for gambling among adults reveal some clear trends.  The chance of winning big money was cited by 86 percent, while 70 percent gamble for “fun”.

Among younger adults (aged 18 to 24), the fun of gambling was a more prevalent reason (83 percent) than the chance of winning big money (79 percent).

A controversial survey

Before the new data was released, industry stakeholders expressed concerns about it. They questioned the methods, stating that an online survey would be over-representing gamblers, as the participation rate was only 50 to 60 percent. Industry executives also feared backlash from out-of-context data.

Gambling Commission executive director Tim Miller defended the survey, arguing that relevant agencies and recognised experts had worked on the data in an “open and transparent” process. Miller also declared that the survey findings should not lead to a change in regulations: “I don’t think it would be appropriate to change government policy based on one set of data. The absolute number is not the key thing; it’s how that number develops over time.”

The commission has published guidelines to ensure that the data provided is not reported wrongly. For instance, the Commission explained, while the findings can describe the range of consequences someone may experience as a result of their own gambling and someone else’s gambling, or look at patterns within the data among different demographic groups, it cannot be used as a measure of addiction to gambling, nor to calculate an overall rate of gambling-related harm in Great Britain.

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