Gambling - Scottish and Welsh Gambling Survey results issued

The Scottish Government has published the “Scottish Health Survey 2015” and this shows that overall gambling participation in Scotland has increased slightly from 65 % in 2014 to 67.8% in 2015. However the statistics also show that problem gambling has dropped slightly form 0.8 % in 2014 to 0.7% in 2015.

Headline points highlighted by The Gambling Commission in their article on the subject are as follows:

• Overall gambling participation rate in Scotland is 67.8% based on participation in the past 12 months. This compares with 65% in 2014, 66.3% in 2013 and 63% in 2012.   
• Participation in any activity excluding National Lottery draw only is 49.3%.
• 0.7% of those surveyed were identified as problem gamblers, compared with 0.8% in 2014, 0.4% in 2013 and 0.8% in 2012.
• 4% of all respondents were identified as low or moderate risk gamblers. This compared with 4.4% in 2014, 4% in 2013 and 4% in 20112.

The publishing of these statistics follows a report in relation to “Welsh problem gambling survey 2015” which was a survey of 4000 people and highlighted the following;

• Overall gambling participation in Wales is 61%, with 63% of men and 59% of women reporting that they gambled in the previous 12 months
• The National Lottery is the most popular form of gambling in Wales with 49% of men and 46% of women taking part in the last 12 months
• Participation in any activity excluding players of the National Lottery draw only is 44.2%
• 1.1% of those surveyed were identified as problem gamblers
• 3.8% of all respondents were identified as at low or moderate risk of problem gambling 

The Welsh report can be found here: 'New survey data highlights gambling participation and problem gambling rates in Wales'.