The latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain tells an interesting story: overall participation is holding relatively steady across the board, but something’s shifted among younger adults. Just 48% of 18 to 24-year-olds gambled in the past year, down from 54% in 2023. This generation, it seems, is taking a markedly different approach to the industry than those who came before.

A Tale of Two Trends

The Commission’s data shows overall participation dipped slightly to 59% in 2025 from 61% in 2023. But here’s where it gets interesting: the real story lies in the generational split. The 35 to 44 age group remains the biggest gambling cohort at 66%, whilst under-25s are increasingly stepping back from the action altogether.

What’s perhaps more revealing than participation numbers is the self-exclusion picture. Gamstop’s self-exclusion service has seen a 40% year-on-year surge among 16 to 24-year-olds, with under-25s now representing roughly a third of all exclusions. Over five years? That’s a 75% increase in young people opting out. The direction of travel is unmistakable.

Young People Taking Control

These figures suggest young adults aren’t necessarily shying away from gambling due to lack of interest. Rather, there’s genuine growing awareness of potential risks and a real willingness to use available tools to manage behaviour. Gamstop CEO Fiona Palmer described self-exclusion as an “invaluable and flexible tool,” particularly among younger users. The numbers bear that out.

Student-focused campaigns appear to be gaining real traction. Ygam’s Silence the Stigma initiative, launched in partnership with NUS Charity, has helped shift the conversation on campus. Nearly 60% of student gamblers now report awareness of support services; 69% feel confident accessing help when they need it.

The Social Media Question

One concern that’s emerged from the research is the influence of digital spaces. Students increasingly cite social media as a key factor shaping their gambling behaviour, which has prompted calls for greater focus on these platforms. The UK’s ban on gambling advertising targeted at young people through YouTube and similar channels addresses part of it, but industry observers and charities recognise more work needs doing.

The University Student Gambling Survey, published in March, showed 65% of students gambled in the past year, down from 78% in 2022. Here’s the twist: despite fewer students gambling, those who do are spending more. Average weekly spend hit an all-time high of £50.33 this year, up from £33.77 in 2022.

Problem Gambling Rates Drop

On the positive side, problem gambling rates fell to 2.4% from 2.7% the previous year, according to the Commission’s methodology. Industry figures dispute this slightly, pointing to NHS data suggesting 0.7% of the population meets problem gambling criteria. The Commission maintains the surveys use different approaches and shouldn’t be compared directly.

What emerges from all this is a genuinely complex picture. Younger Britons are engaging less with gambling overall, showing greater awareness of risks, and more readily using available protections. Whether that reflects real behaviour change, improved education, or simply different entertainment preferences among Gen Z? We’ll see. But the trajectory suggests the industry’s next generation of players will be considerably more informed and self-aware than their predecessors.