Older men drive rise in non-lottery gambling, regulator says

The U.K. Gambling Commission is seeking explanations after its Gambling Survey for Great Britain found non-lottery gambling participation among men aged 55 and over rose from 27% in 2023 to 32% in 2025. Four-week participation in the same group increased from 18% to 22% over the two-year period. The national problem gambling rate declined to 2.4% in 2025, down from 2.7% the previous year. The 2.4% figure represents adults who scored at least eight on the Problem Gambling Severity Index and is equivalent to about 1.3 million people.

The survey, published by the commission on July 16 as the third annual GSGB report, tracks gambling activity and related harms across Great Britain. The regulator reported that men aged 55 and over were the only demographic to record a statistically significant increase in non-lottery participation between 2023 and 2025. Non-lottery participation among men aged 18 to 34 fell from 54% to 51% and among men 35 to 54 edged down from 49% to 48% over the same period.

The report also showed shifts among older adults more broadly. Non-lottery participation for people aged 65 to 74 rose from 25% in 2023 to 29% in 2025, while their past four-week participation increased from 16% to 19%. Gambling participation among 18-to-24-year-olds declined to 48% in 2025 from 52% in 2024 and 54% in 2023. The 35-to-44 age group had the highest overall participation at 66%.

Patterns in help-seeking varied by age. The share of 35-to-54-year-olds seeking help for their own gambling rose from 2.4% to 3.8% between 2023 and 2025. The proportion of people aged 55 and over seeking help because of someone else’s gambling fell from 2.3% to 1.1%. Among women aged 55 and over, the figure fell from 2.9% to 1.2%.

The survey’s methods have attracted criticism from some researchers. One researcher highlighted large differences between the GSGB estimates and operator-reported customer numbers, citing an estimated 467,499–611,768 betting exchange users in the survey versus 172,409–177,051 active customers reported by a major exchange. The survey’s estimate of Football Pools participation was about 862,961, compared with an operator record of 108,699 unique customers. The Gambling Commission defended its methodology, pointing to an independent review and pilot testing conducted before the survey’s first edition. The report noted that other national health surveys have produced lower problem gambling estimates, and it said the debate over measurement will continue.

The commission called for further analysis to identify which gambling activities older male participants are undertaking and to better understand why fewer older women are seeking support.