Gambling - Gambling Commission publishes secondary analysis of participation data

The Commission has published analysis of trends in gambling behaviour for 2008-2014. The findings include:

• There has been a significant increase in remote gambling participation, gambling participation amongst those from the AB (1) social grade (higher & intermediate managerial, administrative, professional occupations) and female participation in activities other than the National Lottery;
• There has been a decrease in participation in National Lottery draws, virtual gaming machines in bookmakers (FOBTs) and fruit/slot machines;
• The frequency of gambling and average number of activities participated in has remained relatively stable since 2008;
• The correlation between gambling behaviour correlates and macro-economic indicators such as GDP and unemployment (i.e. as GDP increases gambling participation increases and vice versa); and
• Disposable income did not, however, correlate with overall gambling participation but did correlate with remote gambling participation.

The analysis is taken from data from the Commission's quarterly participation survey. The full report can be viewed here.