The latest Health Survey for England figures show problem gambling rates at circa 0.4 percent. The HSE study – previously the benchmark model for assessing problem gambling in the UK prior to the Gambling Commission’s heavily criticised intervention – has been pretty consistent through its extensive research: problem gambling levels have been stable for more than a decade it said. All of which casts further doubt on the regulator’s significantly higher prevalence claims and its approach to measuring gambling harm.
Problem gambling rates in England stand at circa 0.4 percent of the adult population, according to the latest Health Survey for England, raising further questions over the Gambling Commission’s controversial GSGB survey, which has failed to convince since launched two years ago.
The fresh figures from NHS England also show that only 0.9 percent are classed as medium to high risk, with the data confirming that prevalence has remained stable for more than 12 years.
A clash of the stats
The findings contrast sharply with the Gambling Commission’s Gambling Survey for Great Britain, which estimates problem gambling at around 2.7 percent of adults with a further 3.1 percent at risk. The gulf between the two datasets has become a focal point of industry concern, with analysts pointing to major methodological differences. While the HSE uses a long-established, interviewer-led health survey model, the Commission’s GSGB relies on online sampling, a method critics argue can inflate Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores.
“Until there is a better understanding of the errors affecting the new survey’s estimates of the prevalence of gambling and gambling harm, policy-makers must treat them with due caution,” commented Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners on the Commission’s survey. “There are such significant doubts about its absolute accuracy that we don’t think it should be used for assessing the number of problem gamblers in the country.”
The HSE’s latest figures had been the standard bearing measure of gambling prevalence for well over a decade and their latest figures provide a deft range of 1.38 between the “confidence intervals”. But even when the highest range is applied, the gap between health officials and gambling officials is cavernous.
Gambling like it’s 2024
One figure that does stand out is that some 96 percent of people have no problem with gambling whatsoever.
Beyond problem gambling rates, the HSE data also shows that 52 percent of adults did not gamble at all in 2024. For the 48 percent that did enjoy a bet, The National Lottery remained dominant (31pc), followed by scratchcards (13pc) and other lotteries (16pc).
Land based sector hanging in there
For the land based sector, these lottery statistics dwarf participation on the high streets. Bingo participation held steady at around 4 percent, ‘fruits and slots’ also accounted for 4 percent. Meanwhile, betting accounted for 13 percent of activity – at the time the survey ended in December 2024, online betting was cutting deeply into land-based participation reducing the gap to five – 8 online and 13 in the shops.
Taken together, the findings paint a very different picture to the false narrative that prohibitionists continue to push, emboldened by the Commission’s controversial new figures.
The tried, tested and trusted HSE data shows gambling participation is declining, problem gambling remains limited, and most adults do not gamble – realities that, one might imagine, would be reflected in policy discussion.
And yet, the Gambling Commission needs a 30 percent rise in licence fees. Go figure?
Originally published on Coinslot on February 2, 2026. Republished with permission.