Underage Gambling Numbers in UK Drop

The UK Gambling Commission reported that the number of underage gamblers in the country has fallen, with 11% of respondents saying they've spent their own money gambling in the past week.

The numbers were revealed in the Young People and Gambling Survey 2019 and saw 2,943 children aged 11 to 16 surveyed. 11% said that they spent their own money gambling during the past week, which is down from 14% last year. 36% said that they've spent money gambling in the past year, down from 39%. Underage problem gambling numbers remained steady at 1.7%.

While the numbers are lower, the regulator says that there's still a lot of work that needs to be done to combat underage betting. Speaking about the study UKGC Executive Director Tim Miller said, "This report demonstrates that children and young people's interaction with gambling or gambling behaviours comes from [two] sources - gambling on age-restricted products and gambling style games.

"Any child or young person that experiences harm from these areas is a concern to us and we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to protect them from gambling harms.

"Most of the gambling covered by the report takes place in ways which the law permits, but we must keep working to prevent children and young people from having access to age restricted products."