Gambling Commission Report Links Activities to Problem Gambling
A new report by the Gambling Commission explores the connection between specific gambling activities and Problem Gambling Severity Index scores, revealing key insights.
High-Risk Activities Identified
The report, based on the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, highlights activities that correlate with a higher risk of problem gambling. Problem gambling is defined as a PGSI score of 8 or more. These activities include casino products and fruit/slot games.
Also included are bets on non-sporting events and in-person sports/racing. Non-National Lottery online instant wins and scratchcards are included as well.
Wider Engagement Matters
The data indicates that the link between other gambling activities and problem gambling diminishes when considering wider engagement.
Activities like charity lotteries and National Lottery scratchcards may involve problem gambling. Online sports/racing betting and football pools may as well. However, they do not correlate with elevated PGSI scores.
Regulator’s Perspective
Helen Bryce, the Gambling Commission’s Head of Statistics, noted:
“In summary we found that gambling involvement, measured by the number of activities and frequency of gambling, remain important predictors of the experience of problem gambling alongside engagement in specific activities.”
Consistent Assessment
Bryce further stated:
“The findings from this short report do not change our assessment of the gambling landscape that we shared with DCMS as part of our input to the Gambling Act Review – but instead it builds on our existing understanding and provides further perspectives to add to our existing evidence base, which takes into consideration a broad range of evidence from different sources.”
The Gambling Commission recently released data from the GSGB examining motivations for gambling and their alignment with various activities.
