The latest iteration of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) was published by the UK Gambling Commission today, shedding light on the gambling participation trends across the UK between January 15 and April 28. The data revealed that participation remained flat compared to the previous year, with a majority of participants gambling in hopes of winning big money.

The annual survey, first published in July, examines the gambling habits of UK adults. This year, the participation rate for the survey sample increased by 8%, with the sample size growing from 4,801 to 5,191. Overall, the gambling participation rate between January and April was consistent with the previous year at 48% across the entire sample, dropping to 27% when excluding lottery.

When delving into online gambling rates, it was found that 16% of participants had gambled via desktop or mobile apps in the past four weeks, excluding lottery. Men showed a slightly higher preference for online gambling, with 20% participating compared to only 13% of women. Men aged 35 to 44 had the highest online gambling participation rate at 29%.

In-person gambling participation remained steady at 29%, with no change from last year. When lottery draw-only players were excluded, the participation rate dropped to 18%. Men and women showed relatively equal representation in overall gambling, with 51% of men and 45% of women having gambled in the past four weeks. However, when lottery was excluded, male participation decreased to 30% and female participation to 24%.

Lottery emerged as the most popular form of gambling among participants, with men aged 45 to 54 having the highest participation rate at 60%. Excluding lottery, men aged 35 to 44 led with a 38% gambling rate in the last four weeks. Among women aged 35 to 44, excluding lottery, the participation rate was 33%, the highest among females.

When participants were asked about their reasons for gambling, the majority (85%) cited the desire to win big money, while 71% found the activity fun. The excitement of betting attracted 53% of respondents, and 57% said they gambled to make money, a slight decrease from the previous year.

In terms of feelings towards gambling in the past 12 months, 37% of participants rated the activity a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most positive. Removing lottery from the mix, 32% of participants rated gambling a 5, and only 5% rated it a 10, indicating a minimal change from the previous year.

Lottery was the most popular form of gambling across all demographics, with a participation rate of 32%, closely followed by charity lottery draws at 16%. Sports betting, both in-person and online, saw a slight decrease from the previous year to 9%, while casino games, both online and retail, remained steady at 3%. Slots, including retail, attracted 4% of participants.

Among betting markets, football emerged as the most popular choice, with 7% of participants betting on the sport, followed by horseracing and greyhound racing at 4%. These figures mirrored those of the previous year, indicating a consistent trend in betting preferences among participants.