Problem gambling higher in the UK than previously thought

The rate of problem gambling in the United Kingdom may be higher than the 0.3% suggested by previous surveys conducted by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the country’s regulator.

Although previous estimates suggest a lowering of the problem gambling levels in the country as a whole, new research by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) that was funded by the UKGC argues that 0.7% of the population over the age of 16 lives with and experience problem gambling.

This puts the numbers at some 380,000 people. The research, "The Fiscal Costs and Benefits of Problem Gambling: Towards Better Estimates," as its name suggests, was looking at the fiscal cost of problem gambling per person. According to its findings, the annual fiscal cost associated with gambling harms and problem gambling amounts to approximately $1.80bn.

The study similarly drew another interesting parallel, suggesting that a person who is considered to be experiencing a problem cost the fiscal system £3,700 compared with people who were classified as experiencing "at-risk" gambling.

NIESR cautions, though, that its findings are still not exact estimates, mostly because there isn’t sufficient publicly available data. There is further areas to be reviewed, such as the correlation between gambling debt on the one hand and family breakdown on the other.

The research mostly agrees that because of gambling, the state has to pick higher welfare costs, and spend more on healthcare and criminal justice, as well as factor in homelessness. In light of these findings, NIESR has recommended the government to factor the costs of problem gambling in the Review of the 2005 Gambling Act which will be put forward by the White Paper.

NIESR also calls for better data collection as part of the UKGC’s remit so that important insights can be garnered into how problem gambling impacts people and society, as well as understanding better the link between problem gambling and suicide.

In the meantime, NIESR also wants to see the use and inclusion of screening diagnostics for people who are suffering from problem gambling in the Wealth and Assets Survey as well as an update to the fiscal estimates as soon as there is sufficient data from the 2022 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

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