Approximately one in eleven adults impacted by others’ gambling in 2024, Gambling Commission reports

(AsiaGameHub) –   Fresh analysis of player data released by the Gambling Commission (UKGC) shows that almost one in 11 adults in Great Britain suffered harm due to someone else’s gambling in 2024.

The findings, based on the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) 2024—a tool used by the Gambling Commission to monitor gambling behaviour across different sectors—were published on Thursday.

The data comes from responses by 19,714 adults aged 18 and over across Great Britain, who answered a range of questions about gambling habits.

The GSGB revealed that while 48% of adults said they had someone close to them who gambled, 9% of all adults (approximately 1.6 million people) reported experiencing at least one negative outcome from another person’s gambling in the past year.

Among these “affected others,” 5.3% reported severe harms, and 19% experienced at least one potential adverse effect.

Younger women more likely to be affected others

Notably, 63% of those impacted by others’ gambling had themselves gambled in the past year—slightly above the 60% gambling rate for the general adult population. This included recent gambling activity in the previous four weeks (54% versus 48%).

The group of affected others was generally younger and more likely to be female, with 55% identifying as women and 46% aged between 25 and 44. They were also more involved in “higher-risk” gambling activities, such as in-person event betting (with a participation rate nearly 3.7 times higher than other gamblers) and casino games.

Among affected others who also gambled, 21.5% scored within the problem gambling range (scoring 8–27 on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)), compared to just 4.5% of all gamblers—a nearly fivefold increase.

Health-related harms

Health-related harms were the most commonly reported, with 73.7% of affected others experiencing at least one consequence from the other person’s gambling. Relationship harms were cited by 65.3%, and financial or resource-related harms by 42.5%. The most frequent specific harms included stress or anxiety (57.9%), shame or embarrassment (52%), and increased conflict or arguments (45.4%).

More than a quarter (26.6%) of affected others reported at least one severe harm, such as relationship breakdowns, major financial loss, violence or abuse, and criminal activity.

Earlier this year, data from UK-based charity GamCare showed that 1,954 people in the UK used its Money Guidance Service in 2025 after suffering gambling-related losses—more than double the previous year’s figure of 923.

Among cases involving severe harm, the UKGC report found that 74.3% listed relationship breakdown as a direct consequence.

Despite the widespread impact, only 14.5% of affected others sought help in the past year due to someone else’s gambling. Those who gambled themselves were more likely to seek support (18.3%) than non-gambling affected others (7.7%), turning to various mental health, welfare, relationship counselling, and gambling-specific services.

Further research to take place

The UKGC’s analysis used new questions focused on consequences within the GSGB, broadening understanding beyond the traditional PGSI framework to include harms experienced by individuals other than the gambler.

The data indicate that “affected others” are not a uniform group; many are active gamblers themselves, often living in households or social circles where multiple people gamble. Harmful effects frequently overlap across financial, relational, and health areas.

To gain deeper insights, the UKGC has scheduled further qualitative research to examine these experiences in more detail and better understand the dynamics of harm among affected others.

The UK government has also recently committed £25.4 million to gambling-harm prevention services. According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the funding aims to support “equitable and innovative prevention strategies.”